There could be a wealth of great arms, with ‘could’ carrying a lot of weight.
The scene inside Great American Ball Park on Monday night was as good as it’s been in twelve, thirteen years.
And, if that’s the truth, it was better than it’s been for 95% of all games played in the park since it opened way back at the start of the 2003 season.
Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It was a vintage hot, summer night at a late (7:10 PM ET) start, which helped.
It featured the New York Yankees and slugger Aaron Judge, which helped.
It also featured the well-hyped debut of pitcher Chase Burns, on whose shoulders the hopes of that long, lost Cincinnati Reds Renaissance now rests. That helped pack the house, too.
The reality, though, is that none of those three factors would have both packed the house and made it electric throughout unless these Reds found a way to make the show special, and they did. They rallied – twice. They won, once again. They now look at the standings and see themselves four games over the .500 mark and just a pair of games out of an NL Wild Card spot, firmly in the thick of a playoff chase with peripherals (like a +40 run differential) that suggest to the front office that, unlike 2023, this winning should be sustainable.
That’s why Burns, the 22 year old who was taken 2nd overall in last summer’s MLB Draft, was there in the first place. For all of his brief dominance of the minors in 13 starts this year, he’d still be honing his craft with AAA Louisville if the Reds were again mired in the dumps. The Reds, as they’ve done with many other elite prospects, would be slow-playing his advancement, doing their best to think about their longer term plans alongside his.
Burns is here, though, because the Reds are here. They’re now. It’s been a horribly long time, but they’re here and now – that’s what Terry Francona was hired to emphasize over the winter. And while they’ve got Elly De La Cruz and TJ Friedl and an increasingly balanced overall offense, they’re here – and now – because of their pitching.
Namely, their starting pitching, of which Burns and his phenomenal mix of heat and slide is now very much a big, big part.
He’ll join Andrew Abbott, whose 2.9 bWAR so far this year ranks among the 10 best by pitchers in the game. Eventually, he’ll be joined by Hunter Greene, who finished 8th in last year’s NL Cy Young Award voting and was on pace to do so again in 2025 prior to a groin injury (and he’s slated to throw a bullpen next weekend on his way back to action). He’ll join Nicks Lodolo and Martinez, for now, with the latter now perhaps more of a trade chip than ever given the presence of Brady Singer and his looming free agency (and salary).
That’s before the chance that Wade Miley and Rhett Lowder return later this season, and before we consider the next chance for fellow 22 year old top prospect Chase Petty. That, as well as keeping innings off Burns’ arm, will be the juggle for Nick Krall and the Cincinnati front office. After all, Burns threw just 100 innings for Wake Forest last year and already has 71.0 IP on his arm in 2025 across all levels (including last night).
That’s a juggle that didn’t get juggled very well when the Reds threatened to threaten back in ‘23. This year, both the roster – and the front office, by experience – are hopefully in a much better spot to make it shine.