The radar gun doesn't lie, but it definitely exaggerates. When you flip through a Chase Burns game log, the first thing that jumps off the screen isn't the wins or the losses. It’s the sheer, unadulterated heat. We’re talking about a kid who turned the ACC into his personal laboratory for triple-digit fastballs before becoming the cornerstone of the Cincinnati Reds' future.
He's a fireballer. That’s the label. But if you actually sit down and dissect the box scores from his time at Wake Forest or his early professional outings, you start to see a much weirder, more complex pitcher than the "hard thrower" trope suggests. It’s easy to look at a line that reads 7.0 IP, 13 K, 1 BB and think, "Yeah, he threw hard." Honestly? That’s lazy. The real magic in the Chase Burns stats is how he manipulates vertical break when he’s tired. That's the stuff that gets big league hitters to fish.
The Wake Forest Transformation
Before he was the number two overall pick, Burns had to fix himself. Most people forget he started at Tennessee. He was good there—great, even—but the Chase Burns game log from his sophomore year in Knoxville showed a disturbing trend of late-inning volatility. He’d cruise for four innings and then hit a wall.
Then came the move to Winston-Salem.
The 2024 season at Wake Forest was basically a 14-week masterclass in pitching geometry. Under the tutelage of Sean Moore and the Demon Deacons' pitching lab, Burns didn't just throw harder; he threw smarter. Look at his start against Clemson on May 10, 2024. He went six innings and struck out 13. What the box score doesn't show you is that he threw his slider for a strike nearly 70% of the time that night. That is a preposterous number for a college arm.
Breaking Down the Strikeout Totals
If you’re tracking a Chase Burns game log, you have to look at the K/9. At Wake, he finished with a 17.19 K/9. Just think about that for a second. More than half of the outs he recorded were strikeouts. It’s unsustainable at the MLB level, sure, but it speaks to a level of dominance we haven't seen since Stephen Strasburg was at San Diego State.
He isn't just a "throw it past 'em" guy.
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The slider sits in the upper 80s. It’s got this biting, horizontal sweep that looks exactly like the fastball until it’s about ten feet from the plate. Hitters aren't just missing it; they're falling over. You see it in the game logs—those high-strikeout games almost always correlate with low walk totals. That tells you he’s not "effectively wild." He’s just effective.
What the Professional Data Tells Us
Transitioning to the pros is a different beast. Minor league hitters are more patient. They don't chase the high heater as often. When you analyze a Chase Burns game log from his early professional assignments, you’ll notice the pitch counts start to climb earlier.
It’s a chess match now.
In his first few starts after the draft, the Reds kept him on a short leash. You’ll see 3.0 or 4.0 innings pitched. Don’t let that fool you into thinking he struggled. It’s the "pro-style" ramp-up. What’s important in these logs isn't the length of the outing, but the "Whiff Rate" on his secondary pitches.
- The Fastball: Sits 97-99 mph, peaks at 101.
- The Slider: His primary weapon for put-outs.
- The Changeup: The "X-factor" that has scouts drooling because it’s finally fading properly.
- The Curveball: More of a "get-me-over" pitch for early counts.
Contextualizing the "Bad" Games
Every pitcher has them. Even a guy with a golden arm. If you look at a Chase Burns game log and see a 4.0 IP, 5 ER performance, you have to dig into the "why."
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Usually, it’s the fastball location. When Burns misses, he misses up and over the heart of the plate. At 100 mph, that’s a home run if the hitter timed the previous pitch. Baseball is cruel like that. But notice how he responds. Almost every "blown" start in his career has been followed by a dominant one. That’s the mental makeup teams pay millions for. He doesn't spiral. He just gets angry and throws more strikes.
Kinda scary if you're the next team on the schedule.
How to Read a Pitcher's Log Like a Scout
Stop looking at the ERA. Seriously. It’s a junk stat for individual game evaluation. If you want to know if Chase Burns is actually pitching well, look at these three things in his game log:
- F-Strike% (First Pitch Strike Percentage): If he’s over 65%, the hitters are in deep trouble.
- P/IP (Pitches Per Inning): Anything under 15 is elite efficiency for a power pitcher.
- BBE (Batted Ball Events) Velocity: Are they hitting him hard? Or are they just getting lucky "bloops"?
In most of his dominant stretches, Burns keeps the exit velocity on his slider under 85 mph. That means even when they do hit it, they aren't hitting it anywhere productive.
The Cincinnati Reds Strategy
The Reds are in a weird spot. They have a hitter-friendly park (Great American Ball Park) that eats fly-ball pitchers alive. This makes the Chase Burns game log even more critical to watch as he ascends. He’s a fly-ball leaning pitcher because of the "rise" on his fastball.
To survive in Cincy, he has to keep the ball in the yard.
Check the "GB" (Ground Ball) column in his recent outings. If that number is ticking up, it means he’s successfully incorporating the two-seamer or a more downward-breaking slider. That’s the evolution. That’s the difference between a mid-rotation starter and a perennial Cy Young candidate.
Why Velocity Dips Matter (And Why They Don't)
You might see a game where his average velocity drops from 98.2 to 96.4. Fans usually freak out. "Is he hurt?" "Is his arm tired?"
Usually, it’s just game management. Top-tier starters like Burns are learning to "save" the 100 mph bullets for when there are runners in scoring position. If you see a dip in velocity in a Chase Burns game log but his strikeout numbers remain high, it actually shows growth. It means he’s learning to pitch, not just throw.
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Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
Tracking a player like Chase Burns requires more than just checking the final score on a sports app. To truly understand his trajectory, you need to look at the underlying data that drives those results.
- Watch the Walk Rate: Burns' biggest hurdle is occasionally losing the zone for a 10-pitch stretch. If his walks stay under 2 per game, he’s untouchable.
- Check the Velocity by Inning: Does he still have 99 mph in the 6th? If so, his conditioning is where it needs to be for a full MLB season.
- Observe the Pitch Mix: In games where his slider isn't "sliding," does he have the confidence to go to the changeup? That’s the mark of an ace.
- Monitor the Quality of Contact: Use sites like Baseball Savant to cross-reference his game logs with "Expected Slugged Percentage" (xSLG). This tells you if he was "lucky" or "good."
The Chase Burns game log is a living document of a generational talent figuring out the hardest job in sports. Whether he's carving up minor leaguers or staring down big league sluggers, the data provides a roadmap of his journey toward becoming the face of a franchise. Keep an eye on the strikeout-to-walk ratio; that’s the heartbeat of his success. As he continues to refine his command, the box scores will likely transition from "impressive" to "historic." Check the logs every Tuesday or Wednesday—that's usually when the magic happens.