Red on the right hand Chase Burns threw 24 pitches in his spring outing on Friday, a significant step back from the 68 he threw in his previous appearance. This approach is intentional, manager Terry Francona told reporters, including Fox 19’s Charlie Goldsmith. Burns’ brief outing came after he felt limited movement in his throwing arm earlier in the week. “We’re nipping this in the bud for now,” said Francona.
The fact that Burns was still able to take the ball Friday suggests that concern should be minimal, but the problem could shape how the young righty is handled early in the season. Francona added that the Reds’ medical staff is putting together a routine to help Burns avoid a range of motion problem between starts and forwards.
Cincinnati has room in the rotation for an ace Hunter Greene elbow surgery. Burns appeared to enter camp with the inside track for a fifth career start, with Rhett Lowder again Brandon Williamson as his main competition. Chase Petty again Julian Aguiar they were long-shot players, but both were sent back to minor league camp. Now, the duo of Burns, Lowder, and Williamson have a chance to enter the regular season with starting roles on the sidelines Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodoloagain Brady Singer.
Burns was the top consensus prospect in the Reds’ system entering last season. He didn’t disappoint when he got the call, striking out eight Yankees in his first game in June. The young righty was dismissed by the Red Sox in his second start, hitting his last streak, but he was heavily promoted in 13 appearances. Burns finished the regular season with a whopping 35.6% strikeout rate over 43 1/3 innings. His 2.68 xFIP and 2.76 SIERA were significantly lower than his ERA (4.57). Burns retired five straight Dodgers in his one postseason appearance.
The short Spring Training outing isn’t the first time Burns’ workload has been reached after an injury. He went down with a flexor strain in August that kept him out for about a month. When he returned, the Reds used him strictly as a reliever. He pitched well in two innings and 36 pitches following the injury.
Williamson is coming back from his arm issue. Missed all of 2025 due to UCL reconstruction. The lefty emerged as a consistent member of Cincinnati’s rotation in 2023, making 23 starts. He suffered several arm injuries over the next year, which eventually led to surgery.
The Reds acquired Williamson as part of the package they received from the Mariners in exchange Eugenio Suarez again Jesse Winker in March 2022. He doesn’t rush, but he showed a deep arsenal when he played with Cincinnati in 2023. Williamson made a pitch mix tweak in 2024, pushing his cutter usage from 29.8% to 44.9%. He was using it more than his fastball before the arm problems arose. Opponents hit just .179 against the cutter in Williamson’s limited 2024 sample.
Lowder is right up there with Burns in terms of expected pedigree. His career also started well in the same way, until an arm injury derailed him. Lowder was called up at the end of the 2024 campaign. He pitched to a 1.17 ERA over six starts with the Reds as a 22-year-old. A 4.38 xERA suggested that Lower had a lot of luck, but he entered last season with a good chance to contribute with the big league club. Lowder hit the IL in late March with an arm strain. He was limited to just 9 1/3 innings in the minors.
After Lowder struggled to miss bats in his big league debut (17.2% strikeout rate), he has been pumping out punchouts. The righty had a 26.5% strikeout rate in his five at-bats last year. He pushed it to 29.7% in three Spring Training games. Burns and Lowder could give the Reds another swing-and-miss ability that they will miss while Greene is sidelined.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV of The Enquirer
