Reds have a major Chase Burns problem pointed out by ESPN's Jeff Passan

Chase Burns is delivering on all the hype so far this season for the Cincinnati Reds.

The 23-year old righty has started 12 games for Cincy and has a 7-1 record with a 2.05 ERA.

He has been utterly dominant, striking out 81 batters in 70.1 innings while allowing just 46 hits and 21 walks (0.95 WHIP.

Burns has lowered his walk and hits ratios substantially from his rookie season last year, and there are nights he looks pretty much untouchable.

Despite that, the Reds could be facing a problem not because of Burns, but with Burns.

He's flying toward a career-high in innings, and the Reds are going to have to monitor that closely.

Burns threw 100 innings in 2024 for Wake Forest.

In 2025, across three levels of the minors plus the major leagues, he threw 109.1 innings.

This season, he's already at 70.1 less than halfway through the year.

"Things aren't great in Cincinnati," ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote as part of a new article on Thursday in which he's figuring out what teams might try to do at the trade deadline. "Elly De La Cruz is on the injured list, where he joined ace Hunter Greene. Greene's replacement at the top of the rotation, the magnificent Chase Burns, could be subject to an innings limit."

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An innings limit for Burns would certainly put a damper on the stretch run. The Reds would either be spreading out his starts, shortening them, or shutting them down altogether.

They could also do something bold and just let Burns keep going, but that has potentially costly implications in both the short and long term.

The health of Burns' right arm matters a lot in Cincinnati. The way they may be forced to manage it could set the Reds back.

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• The last time a team was this bad at walking, it took 9 balls to earn a walk
• Chase Burns makes Reds history that hasn't been done in 104 years
• Guardians pitcher trying to complete incredible comeback