Reds ink No. 2 overall pick Burns to record deal

CINCINNATI -- The Reds signed the No. 2 overall selection of the 2024 MLB Draft on Thursday after right-handed starting pitcher Chase Burns agreed to terms.

Burns, 21, will receive a record signing bonus of $9.25 million, sources told MLB.com. It surpassed the $9.2 million last year's first overall pick, pitcher Paul Skenes, received from the Pirates.

"It always feels good," Reds amateur scouting director Joe Katuska said of the signing. "Obviously, Stage 1 is scouting the guy, Stage 2 is drafting him, but Stage 3 is probably the most important part -- actually getting him signed, going through the physical process and getting the pen to paper."

The slot bonus value for the No. 2 pick this year was slightly higher at $9.79 million. The Reds' top selection in 2023, No. 7 overall pick Rhett Lowder, signed for $5.7 million after he was drafted.

Burns, MLB Pipeline's No. 6 overall Draft prospect, and its top rated pitcher, was 10-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 16 starts for Wake Forest in 2024. He was the ACC's Pitcher of the Year and Golden Spikes finalist, and led all of college baseball with 191 strikeouts in 100 innings.

Burns drove to Cincinnati from his home in Tennessee and took his physical earlier in the day on Thursday. He signed his contract at the offices inside Great American Ball Park early Thursday evening.

Next, Burns will travel on Sunday to Goodyear, Ariz., to begin his life as a professional. Where he begins pitching in games has yet to be determined.

"We'll get him on the field Monday," Katuska said. "The biggest thing is first is just figuring out where he is in the throwing progression. He still has some innings to throw but it's been a little bit since he was on the mound in a game situation. We're going to protect the long-term interest and what the projection is for."