Paul Skenes, a right-hander for the Pittsburgh Pirates, made history by being the first No. 1 pick to reach the All-Star Game the following summer.
This achievement is well-deserved as he has had an outstanding start in MLB with a 1.90 ERA and a 6.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first 11 starts. Interestingly, this announcement comes just before a new No. 1 pick will be chosen by the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.
Is there anyone in this draft who could match Skenes’ success? Nope. Thanks for reading! But if we ask if there’s someone who might find quick success in MLB like Skenes, then yes, Chase Burns from Wake Forest could be that guy.
Big-time Arsenal
Burns isn’t exactly like Skenes; he’s not as big or throws as hard all the time. However, Burns has an impressive fastball-slider combo and was clocked at 101 mph this season with his slider getting more than 60% whiffs.
Check out this tweet showing his pitching skills:
Chase Burns, Unfair 5 Pitch K Sequence.
100mph, 100mph, 101mph, 100mph & 83mph Hammer. 😳
Imagine facing this after studying for Calculus.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja)
Burns also has other good pitches like a curveball and changeup. Lance Brozdowski gave high grades to these pitches:
– Fastball: Plus
– Slider: Plus
– Curveball: Above average
– Changeup: Above average
With these skills, Burns could become an above-average starter in MLB.
Produced at Wake
Burns had a fantastic year at Wake Forest with a 2.70 ERA and struck out 191 batters in just 100 innings over 16 starts. He walked fewer than 6% of ACC batters, leading to an impressive differential of 44.5%, which was top among ACC players.
Fans might think Burns is ready for big things soon!
Here’s another tweet showing one of his amazing strikeouts:
Chase Burns, 15th Strikeout & K Strut.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja)
MLB teams often look at college performance to predict pro success, and Burns has shown he’s up for it.
Following Skenes’ Arc
Both Skenes and Burns transferred schools before their big years—Skenes from Air Force to LSU and Burns from Tennessee to Wake Forest—and both saw their draft stock rise significantly afterward.
Here’s another cool clip of Burns:
76 Seconds of Chase Burns's 15 Strikeouts in 6 Innings.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja)
Will Burns follow Skenes’ path perfectly? Probably not exactly, but he’s definitely trying hard and has lots of potential!
What do you think about Chase Burns? Do you believe he’ll shine in MLB?
