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It's reported that Tennessee Volunteers reliever Chase Burns is entering the NCAA transfer portal. He will be available for one season, as he's not eligible to enter the MLB draft until after next season due to his age and being a sophomore.
He could be a significant piece for a contender to land a top pitching prospect. Burns is 6' 3" and has a fastball that hits triple digits on the radar gun consistently. Why should college programs be diving in head-first to get him committed to a deal as soon as possible?
What can Chase Burns do on the pitcher's mound?
Chase Burns was given the role of being a dominant reliever for the Tennessee Volunteers, and he thrived throughout his two seasons with the program.
In 35 appearances, he was 13-5 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.129 WHIP. He has a bit of trouble with the home run, as he allowed 23 over 152.1 innings, but the key numbers are there: 47 walks to 217 strikeouts.
Hitters have a tough time catching up to his pitches, as he has struck out 34.6% of batters faced in his two collegiate seasons. Burns has an incredible ratio of 4.62 strikeouts per walk. He's only going to continue improving, as he dominates the opposing lineup.
Burns' exit did not come as a shock to Volunteers coach Tony Vitello, who told The Sports Animal on Tuesday:
"It's pretty straight forward: We've kind of known that he would be gone for awhile." h/t Knox News
Chase Burns has shown that he can give length, as he was a starting pitcher but moved to the bullpen, pitching six innings during the College World Series against Stanford.
He's only going to continue improving as he gets more experience out of the bullpen, but Burns looked special for Tennessee.
Who will win the Chase Burns transfer portal sweepstakes?
Burns seems keen on winning, so the likely situation is coming out of the bullpen for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
They have just hired Rob Vaughn as their head coach to replace Brad Bohannon, so having that closer in college baseball would be a huge plus. Alabama is a loaded roster, and Burns could be their missing piece to be the next College World Series champions.
