‘Electric stuff': Yankees' Aaron Judge on Cincinnati Reds RHP Chase Burns' ‘bright future'

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2 days ago

Aaron Judge's first look at Chase Burns lasted four pitches, three of which were sliders − the last one darting away from Judge's barrel as he swung and missed to end a spectacular debut inning for the Cincinnati Reds' top prospect.
'The stuff he's got speaks for itself said the New York Yankees captain and two-time MVP. 'There's a reason why he was drafted second overall and why he flew through the minor leagues.'
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The Yankees didn't put a ball June 24 until Burns had struck out five straight, including three former MVPs in a row, starting with Judge and continuing into the second with Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt.
Aaron Judge between pitches of his first-inning at-bat against Chase Burns.
'Understandable why they're excited about him,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the Reds eventually won a 5-4 game in 11 innings. 'Not only is it a big fastball, but it profiles really well. It was jumping.'
It reached 100 mph, sat around 98 most of his five-inning debut and set up a hard slider and 90 mph changeup.
When Burns, 22, struck out the first five batters he faced in a debut, he became the first MLB pitcher to do that in the post-1960 expansion era.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Chase Burns (26) makes his MLB debut in the first inning of the MLB interleague game between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
And even after Jazz Chisholm ended the run with a single, Burns followed that with a three-pitch strikeout of Anthony Volpe.
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'First time through the lineup, he was rolling. It was impressive,' said Judge, who entered the game leading the majors in batting at .367 and was second in home runs (28).
'He's got an electric arm. Electric fastball,' Judge said. 'And he has a good feel for all his breaking pitches, which is kind of the thing that comes as you work your way through the minor leagues − but he didn't need to do that.'
Burns made only 13 minor-league starts in the 11 months and 10 days between being drafted second overall out of Wake Forest and starting for the Reds against the Yankees on Tuesday.
He went 7-3 with a 1.77 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 66 innings.
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It was more of the same in his debut with eight strikeouts and no walks. Against the Yankees. In one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in baseball.
'I'm excited for him,' said Judge, who fought off a fastball for a single up the middle in three at-bats against Burns, eventually scoring during the Yankees' three-run fourth as the adrenaline-filled start and the big Yankee bats caught up with him.
'Cincinnati's got some good young arms, especially you pair him with a Hunter Greene, man —that's something special right there,' Judge said.
Yankees leadoff man Trent Grisham struck out all three times he faced Burns and was in little mood to expound on the young man's skills from the losing clubhouse afterward.
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'Straight heater,' he said. 'Hard slider. Hard changeup.'
Burns remind Grisham of any veterans in the game?
'Nothing that comes to top of mind,' he said.
Impressive the way he started his outing?
'He has a good fastball.'
Judge seemed especially impressed at how Burns controlled the heightened emotions for all that success early in the game.
'You could tell he was hyped up a little bit, but he was under control, and he was attacking the zone, which is the important thing,' Judge said. 'It just speaks volumes to the type of presence he has, just to go out there and, 'Hey, it's just another day.' '
Judge said the Yankee hitters kept talking as each had the chance to face Burns until finally allowing them to 'get a better game plan' and break through for the lead in the fourth.
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'He's got a bright future,' Judge said. 'He's got electric stuff. I wish we would have come away with a win there, but it was fun facing him.'
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What Aaron Judge, Yankees thought of Chase Burns' debut for Reds