Chase Burns is still in Reds rotation race but Terry Francona's comments raise doubts

The most talked about roster battle in Goodyear this spring has centered around the Cincinnati Reds starting rotation. Even before camp began, four of the five spots were all but assured. But Hunter Greene's injury setback has opened up another slot in the Reds rotation.

Chase Burns was in the mix prior to Greene's injury, but his chances of breaking camp with the big-league ball club certainly increased now that another spot is up for grabs. Terry Francona recent comments, however, could signal that Burns still has something to prove before the Reds manager makes his final decision.

Chase Burns hasn't secured a spot on the Reds roster

Speaking with Cincinnati reporter Charlie Goldsmith on Sunday, Francona said, "When he worked ahead, he was just fine. When he worked from behind (in the count), he gave up damage. That’s been the message the entire time from our pitching guys. He’s a pup. The stuff is there. He understands it. As the execution continues to improve, you’ll see those good innings."

Burns has an electric arm, as evidenced by his fastball that ranks among the top-3% in all of baseball (98.7 mph). But as Reds fans know all too well, there's more to pitching than just having a live arm. Burns' fastball-slider combo is good enough to induce plenty of swing and miss, but as Francona said, when he's working behind in the count, he has a tendency to compound mistakes.

Burns struggled during his latest start against the San Diego Padres over the weekend. Both the first inning double to Jackson Merrill and the three-run homer off the bat of Gavin Sheets came after Burns fell behind 2-0. Another Padres hit, a Pablo Reyes single during the second inning, came after falling behind 2-0.

This shouldn't be surprising or even worrisome. As Francona stated, Burns is extremely young and is only scratching the surface in terms of his development. It raises concerns, however, and one has wonder whether or not this aspect of Burns' game will cause Francona to be apprehensive about adding him to the Reds Opening Day roster.

Heading into Cactus League play on Monday, Rhett Lowder seemed to have the upper hand in the roster battle, but he gave up five runs on seven hits over 3⅔ innings of work. Nearly 73% of Lowder's pitches found the strike zone, but perhaps he was finding a little too much of the plate on Monday afternoon.

Brandon Williamson will get his first start of the spring on Tuesday. He's made two appearances thus far, both out of the bullpen. Over four innings, Williamson has six punch outs and has allowed two runs on three hits. The left-hander was sidelined all last season following Tommy John surgery, and while it seems unlikely that he'd be part of the Reds Opening Day rotation, he's still in the mix.

Over the past few days, the Reds optioned Jose Franco, Julian Aguiar, and Chase Petty to Triple-A. So what was assumed to be a three-horse race at the outset of spring camp has officially come down to the trio of Burns, Lowder, and Williamson. Each player will have at least one last chance to prove themselves over the next two weeks before final cuts are made.