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Chase Burns, RHP, Reds: After throwing just 66 mostly untouchable minor league innings, Burns will make his big league debut today against the Yankees.

Here’s everything you need to know…

The skinny: Burns is baseball’s eighth-best prospect and will become the sixth Top 100 pitcher to debut this season. Cincinnati drafted him second overall last year out of Wake Forest and signed him to a record $9.25 million deal. While he didn’t make his professional debut, the Reds had Burns throw with big league baseballs in instructs—a signal they envisioned a quick climb up the ladder this season.

That’s exactly what happened: Burns dazzled in the spring and caught the attention of scouts then. By mid April, we wondered whether Burns already had an argument for the best pitching prospect in the minors and whether it might be wise for the Reds to try and lock him up to an extension.

Burns quickly proved too advanced for High-A—which many predicted would be the case—and has yet to face much resistance this year, striking out 89 batters while throwing plenty of strikes.

Why’s he so good? Well, touching 100 mph with tons of ride and cut with his fastball certainly helps, but it’s Burns’ fire-breathing slider that’s the gem of his arsenal. Those two pitches account for the majority of his usage. Geoff Pontes took a deep dive into the arsenal here, and again here. Burns was also a recent favorite of our weekly Statcast Standouts series.

Joining impressive company: Most likely, soon after he throws his first pitch today, Burns will become the fourth rookie starter this season to throw 100 mph in a big league game, joining Jacob Misiorowski, Chase Dollander and Roki Sasaki.

Burns has thrown six 100+ mph pitches in two Triple-A starts. Add in the adrenaline of an MLB debut, and it will be surprising if he doesn’t crack the century mark at least once on Tuesday.

When he does so, it will mark yet another step in an eye-opening stat. It isn’t normal to have this many rookies arrive throwing at velocity levels that, until not that long ago, were only the domain of relievers. J.J. Cooper explains more here.

Preseason scouting report: Burns’ stuff is good enough to simply blow away many hitters. His plus-plus fastball regularly touches 99-100 mph and sits at 97-98 and it has above-average life. His plus-plus 87-88 mph slider is just as impressive. It has depth, power and bite and is devastating for righties and lefties. Burns’ above-average low-80s power curveball and hard, upper-80s changeup both made strides at Wake Forest. They become even more important in pro ball. Burns’ delivery is energetic, but he has been a consistent strike-thrower with average control. He’s durable and has not missed time with an injury in any of the past four seasons.

The Future: Burns is not as polished as Rhett Lowder was coming out of Wake Forest, but he has a higher ceiling. After all, few pitchers have a pair of 70-grade pitches on their scouting report. Burns could develop into a No. 2 starter if his control and command can come close to matching his top-shelf stuff.

Jadyn Fielder, 2B, Brewers: A player with the last name Fielder going deep for the Brewers in 2025? That's no typo. Jadyn Fielder, son of former Milwaukee slugger Prince Fielder, made a statement in the Arizona Complex League on Monday, going 5-for-5 with a solo home run against the Dodgers in what was easily the best game of his young pro career. While still early, Fielder is hitting .287 with three homers and 20 RBIs. Feeling old yet, Brewers fans?

Braxton Ashcraft, RHP, Pirates: Ashcraft made his first major league start on Monday, throwing three scoreless innings in the Pirates 5–4 win over the Brewers. The righthander allowed just one hit and one walk, striking out two in an efficient 35-pitch outing (28 strikes). Previously used in a relief role, Ashcraft topped out at 97.7 mph and looked poised and confident. His outing set the tone for a bullpen-heavy strategy, helping the Pirates secure the series win in Milwaukee.

Editor’s Picks

Hot Sheet: In case you missed it yesterday, here’s this week’s ranking of the 20 hottest prospects in baseball. Read more…

Baseball America Helium Pick Of The Day

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

Jorge Rodriguez, C, Red Sox: Rodriguez signed with Boston on Jan. 15, 2024 and put together a nondescript professional debut in the Dominican Summer League. He moved stateside this year and has opened a few eyes on the backfields in Fort Myers. The Venezuelan backstop has a strong, accurate arm capable of producing pop times quicker than 1.9 seconds. He went homerless in the DSL last year but has already clubbed a pair of long balls in just 15 games in the FCL, where scouts have noted a player adept at finding the barrel. In fact, the three extra-base hits he’s racked up are one more than he finished with last summer.

Quick Hits

Prospect news and notes from around baseball…

• The Mariners promoted a pair of Top 100 prospects to Double-A.

• Ryan Waldschmidt is also heading to Double-A after an impressive start.

• Royals catcher Carter Jensen, meanwhile, is now just one step from the majors.

• Chandler Simpson is expected to rejoin the Rays today, according to Marc Topkin.

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