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Chase Burns has displayed impressive raw ability since his days in high school when he ranked as one of the top prospects in the 2021 draft class and was already cranking up his fastball to 100 mph.
Three years later, he continues to amaze with his immense natural talent. Even before the 2024 season begins, Burns has been impressing with his blazing fastball and a slider that seems to defy the laws of physics, leaving his own teammates looking foolish.
Despite his exceptional abilities, Burns faces a lingering question this spring that has followed him since his time in high school: is he better suited as a starting pitcher or a reliever?
When he played for Beech High in Hendersonville, Tennessee, scouts had concerns about the quality of his pitches. They questioned the length of his throwing motion, the inconsistencies in his delivery timing, and his ability to consistently throw his secondary pitches.
These doubts led Burns to play college baseball at Tennessee, where he started addressing them. As a freshman, he started 14 games for the Volunteers and achieved a 2.91 ERA with a respectable 7.5% walk rate. He maintained that walk rate in the 2023 season but transitioned into a relief pitcher role after a rough stretch in April where he allowed 23 earned runs in just 17.1 innings against Missouri, Texas A&M, LSU, and Florida. The questions about his suitability as a reliever resurfaced. Now, as a member of the talented pitching staff at Wake Forest in 2024, Burns will once again have the opportunity to prove that his exceptional arm talent is best utilized as a starting pitcher in professional baseball.
This is a familiar situation for many college pitchers in the 2024 class. While they possess impressive raw ability and arm talent, there seems to be a shortage of pitchers who have a high likelihood of succeeding as starters and who can convince scouting departments of their ability to consistently throw strikes, especially compared to an average first-round pitcher.
But what are the characteristics of a typical first-round college pitcher?