The Cincinnati Redshave been hard-pressed to produce starting pitchers that reach the 30-start threshold in recent years, but Chase Burns is on track to hit the milestone as his breakout season begins to wind down. He'll join several teammates in reaching 30 starts, too.
Burns' started the Reds' Sept. 18 series opener against the Chicago Cubs at Great American Ball Park, marking his 29th post of 2026. His next start will make 30 on the season, and that's an accomplishment that served his club well this year and should continue to in the future.
Burns will reach No. 30 in the midst of an innings limit that was formally brought to light by the organization in late August.
“We thought it was important to get him this far, help set him up for the next
year but also not to do something that’s probably not smart to do," Reds manager Terry Francona said.
Add 30 starts to the list of accomplishments for Burns in 2026. The 23-year-old's 15-3 record stayed intact while his ERA ticked up slightly to 2.86 ERA after his three innings of work against Chicago in an eventual 6-4 Reds win. Burns was named to the National League roster for the MLB All-Star Game and later that week agreed to terms on a seven-year, $105 million contract extension.
The most starts Hunter Greene logged in a season was 26 in 2024. In Andrew Abbott's 2025 All-Star season, he made 29 starts after he opened the campaign on the injured list.
This year, Burns will hit 30 alongside Abbott (31 starts as of Sept. 18) and Brady Singer (30 starts). He would do so in a considerable year-over-year workload increase as he was limited to 13 games and eight starts in 2025. At that time, Burns' rise through the minors was rapid.
Greene is out of the picture for 2027, but the Burns-Abbott-Singer triumvirate figures to remain intact for 2027. That means Cincinnati figures to once again begin the season with starting pitching strength, especially when factoring for additional starters like Rhett Lowder, Nick Lodolo and those who will compete for a starting spot like Brandon Williamson, who is arbitration-eligible in 2027.
Singer is expected to receive a qualifying offer this offseason.
“The more you don’t have to fill those (starts), obviously the better you are," Francona said. "It can definitely be challenging. ... The next thing is not necessarily to get the starts — because they’ve thrown a lot of pitches. We just haven’t gotten deep enough into games.”
Burns had been piggybacking with Williamson in September, but Williamson was needed in the Reds' Sept. 17 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Righty Julian Aguiar was added from Triple-A Louisville to serve in the Williamson roll, and he guided Cincinnati through the sixth inning after taking over for Burns.
The appearance was Aguiar's 2026 debut for Cincinnati. He held the NL wild card-leading Cubs to two runs on four hits, and earned the win. In the bottom of the sixth, the Reds scored three runs to take a 6-4 lead.
Emilio Pagán entered in the ninth inning for Cincinnati and closed out Chicago to earn his 23 save in 26 opportunities.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds' Chase Burns is nearing an important milestone in his development
