The baseball world was abuzz about what took place in Cincinnati on Tuesday night. Reds pitcher Chase Burns made his Major League Baseball debut and last year’s No. 2 overall pick certainly lived up to the hype – while making history and perhaps giving Cincinnati Reds playoff chances a boost.
Facing a New York Yankees team that averages more than five runs a game, the 22-year-old struck out the Bronx Bombers in order in the first inning. He ended that inning by getting reigning American League Most Valuable Player and Triple Crown candidate Aaron Judge to go down swinging.
Burns went on to strike out the first five Yankees he faced, and his first six outs in the majors were all on Ks. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Burns is only the third pitcher in the expansion era (since 1961) to make his first six outs by strikeout. He’s also the only one in that span to punch out the first five batters.
After such an electric debut, the question is now whether Burns can continue to make history. BetOhio.com, your source for Ohio sports betting and gaming news, wanted to know if any Rookie of the Year winner started his season as late as Burns has. We used Baseball-Reference.com to delve through Rookie of the Year data to see when they their first appearance with an MLB team. (We excluded the 2020 season since it was just 60 games and started in July):
| Year | League | Player (Team) | Debut |
| 2024 | American | Luis Gil (Yankees) | Aug. 3, 2021 |
| 2024 | National | Paul Skenes (Pirates) | May 11, 2024 |
| 2023 | American | Gunnar Henderson (Orioles) | Aug. 31, 2022 |
| 2023 | National | Corbin Carroll (D’backs) | Aug. 29, 2022 |
| 2022 | American | Julio Rodriguez (Mariners) | April 8, 2022 |
| 2022 | National | Michael Harris (Braves) | May 28, 2022 |
| 2021 | American | Randy Arozarena (Rays) | Aug. 14, 2019 |
| 2021 | National | Jonathan India (Reds) | April 1, 2021 |
| 2019 | American | Yordan Alvarez (Astros) | June 9, 2019 |
| 2019 | National | Pete Alonzo (Mets) | March 28, 2019 |
Prior to his callup, Burns was a longshot at most sportsbooks for the National League ROY award. Less than a week ago, FanDuel Ohio Sportsbook listed him at +12000. Those odds shortened to +1700 within days after the Reds announced his Tuesday start, and his odds continued to shorten with each strikeout.
At one point Tuesday, Burns’ odds at FanDuel were down to +450. As of Thursday morning, he’s available at +850. The only players with shorter odds are Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (-120), who has allowed only three hits in 16 innings over his first three starts, and Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin (+450), who has nine home runs and an .845 OPS in 53 games this season.
Misiorowski debuted on June 12, while Baldwin began the season with Atlanta, leading to one question for MLB betting in Ohio: Did Burns debut too late to compete for top NL rookie honors?
As you can see from the list above, the latest debut for any recent rookie of the year was Yordan Alvarez, who hit 27 homers in just 87 games after his callup with the Houston Astros in 2019.
Going back a little further, another Houston player, Carlos Correa, took home the award in 2015 after getting his start with the Astros on June 8. The Tampa Bay Rays called up Wil Myers on June 18, 2013, and he won the award that same season.
One must go back to 1978 to find another June debut for an ROY winner. Bob Horner joined the Atlanta Braves on June 16 of that year, just days after he was drafted.
However, should Burns win, he would not be the winner with the latest start date. That honor goes to Willie McCovey. The Hall Of Famer joined the San Fransico Giants on July 30, 1959. He hit .354 with 13 homers and 38 RBI over the last two months of the season to win the NL award.
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USA Today Network photo by Sam Greene/The Enquirer
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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