RHP Chase Burns

Age: 21

B: Right T: Right

HT: 6/3 WT: 210

Hometown: Hendersonville, TN

2024 Stats: 16 G, 100 IP, 62 H, 30 ER, 30 BB, 191 SO, 2.70 ERA, 0.920 WHIP

Chase Burns was the best arm I saw during live looks this year. We are basically at the point where we are running out of words to describe how good Burns is. He’s at least the top two, if not the top, arm in the 2024 MLB Draft. It’s been a fun battle between him and Arkansas lefty Hagen Smith. After spending two years at the University of Tennessee, the right-hander came over to the Wake Forest Pitching Lab. His junior year at Wake Forest was extremely successful. He led the NCAA in strikeouts during the regular season and ended up with 191 K’s in 100 innings pitched, compiling a 10-1 record with a 2.70 ERA.

Burns is a presence on the mound with his strong, athletic build. He has the frame of your prototypical pitcher. On top of that, Burns is firey. He pitches with a lot of emotion and isn’t afraid to come right at hitters. There is some effort to his delivery, especially when he needs some extra velocity late, but it isn't overly concerning. Despite the effort, he does a good job repeating his mechanics and staying on time with his delivery.

His arsenal is led by a 70-grade fastball with a ton of cut and ride that you could almost make an 80-grade at this point. It sits around 97-99 mph, and he has even topped at 102 mph. Tyler Jennings had it at 2715 RPMs in the ACC tournament, which is absurd. Later in games, he can dip down to 95-97 mph, but he was easily popping a 98 or 99 when he needed it to get a strikeout. He pairs that fastball with a 70-grade diabolical slider. The pitch has tons of depth and bite to it. The velocity at times was around 88-91 and had more of a cutter shape to it. He’d also throw it at 85-87 which gave it more depth. He’s able to land it for strikes and isn’t afraid to use it in any count. He uses this pitch to generate most of his whiffs.

On top of the fastball and slider, he has a curveball and changeup. His curveball is around 78-84 mph. He had a harder one, which grades close to above average, and a softer one that he would go to to get strikes early. When I saw him, he only threw a handful of changeups which clocked in around 91-93 mph. It was about an average pitch as it was firm and he didn’t generate any whiff with it. He only seemed to use it as a get-me-over pitch.

It’s easy to see why teams see him as the top arm in the MLB Draft.