Finally, Chase Burns Brings The Heat

Plus: Noah Schultz battles his command and a sleeper Blue Jays outfielder goes yard.

Author

Mark Chiarelli
March 06, 2025

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Chase Burns, RHP, Reds: The Reds paid Burns a record-setting $9.25 million bonus last summer. Wednesday, he finally made his long-awaited debut. Burns pitched the ninth inning of a 5-3 loss to the Rangers. He struck out three, allowing one walk and no hits across 18 pitches. He threw 14 four-seam fastballs, sitting 99 mph with heavy ride and cut, and four sliders that averaged 89-90 mph. Burns showed off his elite stuff in his debut and could be a must-watch starter early in the minor league season. 

Noah Schultz, LHP, White Sox: Few prospects garner the sort of lofty expectations and comps that Schultz does. On Wednesday, Schultz tossed two scoreless frames but walked three, allowing no hits and striking out one against the Brewers. His velocity was down a bit sitting 93-94 mph while mixing in his low-80s slider and a changeup. The White Sox also pitched 2024 first-rounder Hagen Smith who tossed a pair of scoreless innings while also battling his control.

Alan Roden, OF, Blue Jays: Roden may be an under-the-radar option to make the Blue Jays roster out of camp, but he has had some moments already this spring. Roden hit his first home run of the spring on Wednesday against the Pirates, driving a Yohan Ramirez fastball to right-center field. Roden is 4-for-9 this spring with three extra-base hits and four walks to no strikeouts. Roden has shown increased game power in recent years, pairing that with excellent plate skills and strong defense in an outfield corner.

Miguel Ullola, RHP, Astros: Up until Wednesday, it had been a difficult start to the spring for Ullola after he allowed five runs across his first 2.2 innings. But the Astros righty tossed two scoreless innings allowing one hit and no walks, striking out one on Wednesday. Ullola possesses a standout fastball and slider combination and could debut at some point in 2025 for the Astros.

Arjun Nimmala, SS, Blue Jays: After a rough start to 2024, the Blue Jays’ 2023 first-round pick found his swing in the second half and ended the season on a high note. Nimmala is starting off 2025 on the right foot as well. He connected for a home run in his only at-bat Wednesday, pulling a Yohan Ramirez 96 mph fastball on the inner half of the plate to left field at 105.6 mph.

Editor’s Picks

Up-Arrow Fantasy Prospect: Geoff Pontes highlights a dozen players trending in the right direction who you should target in fantasy. Read more…

Meet Liam Peterson: Florida’s ace has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the country so far this season, and has a chance to be the first arm off the board in the 2026 draft. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

Each day, we’ll pick a prospect that has our attention.

George Lombard Jr., SS, Yankees: No player received as much “move him up” feedback from front office officials and scouts as Lombard did in our Top 100 Prospects process this offseason. So far in spring training, Lombard is showing why. Through eight games played, Lombard is 5-for-15 with two home runs while looking great at the plate. He has added noticeable strength since last season, and at 19 years old entering the season, he looks poised for a breakout.

Yankees prospects will always get additional coverage due to the size of the New York media market, making Lombard likely to gain serious notoriety with a strong performance in 2025. He has a combination of tools that make him both an exciting fantasy prospect and one for real life, as well. Lombard shows strong bat-to-ball skills, approach and growing power giving him the upside to blossom into a 20+home run and 20+ stolen base threat with a strong average.

Quick Hits

News and notes from around spring training…

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