Burns takes hill for Reds against Padres, the team that first drafted him
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Chase Burns, his flaming four-seamer and his 2.05 ERA will get a taste of what could have been on Tuesday.
Burns is slated to start for the Reds against the Padres at 9:40 p.m. ET at Petco Park, the first time he’ll square off against San Diego in his impressive young career. But he might have been in the home dugout had things broken a different way.
Though Burns is currently rewarding the Reds for their investment in him with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 Draft, the Padres were first to take a chance on the righty. San Diego selected Burns in the 20th round in the 2021 Draft, though he opted to not sign and instead play college ball at Wake Forest.
That Draft was a doozy for San Diego. On top of finding a gem like Burns in the 20th round, their other selections included the following names:
- Jackson Merrill, first round: Padres starting center fielder and the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up
- James Wood, second round: Nationals slugger dealt in the Juan Soto deal
- Robert Gasser, Competitive Balance Round B: traded in Josh Hader deal and starting for Brewers on Tuesday
- Ryan Bergert, sixth round: traded in 2025 for current Padres catcher Freddy Fermin
- River Ryan, 11th round: traded to Dodgers for Matt Beaty and current MLB Pipeline No. 77 prospect
- Gage Jump (unsigned), 18th round: in MLB with Athletics and Pipeline’s No. 38 prospect
On Tuesday, the Reds are getting Burns back on the bump at a good time, attempting to snap a five-game losing streak while superstar Elly De La Cruz remains on the injured list. Burns, 23, has struck out at least seven in four consecutive starts and has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of those games. He’s also gone at least five innings in all 12 of his starts this year, with the Reds going 8-4 in those games.
Conversely, Burns is getting the Padres at a good time. San Diego is 3-7 in its last 10 and has been in some kind of offensive funk. The Padres are last in MLB with a .215 batting average and a .647 OPS.
The Padres will send Lucas Giolito (2-1, 4.86 ERA) against Burns on Tuesday. He took the loss his last time out against the Phillies, throwing four innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk.