Hunter Greene's injury update leaves Reds staring at Chase Burns reality

Late on Sunday, it was announced that Cincinnati Reds' top prospect Chase Burns is on his way to Triple-A Louisville. Given the most recent injury update surrounding starting pitcher Hunter Greene, a promotion to the big leagues might not be far behind.

Greene was removed from his last start due to a groin injury and was later placed on the 15-day IL. At the moment, the Reds have chosen to replace Greene in the rotation with veteran left-hander Wade Miley. Cincinnati signed Miley to a minor-league deal during the offseason, and after opting out on June 1, was re-signed to a major-league contract following Greene' injury.

The southpaw's first action this season, however, left a lot to be desired. The 38-year-old went two innings in relief last week and gave up four runs while barely reaching 90 mph on the radar gun. Miley will get the start on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians, and his performance could dictate Cincinnati's next move.

Hunter Greene's injury update could force Reds to call on Chase Burns sooner rather than later

During Saturday's broadcast against the Arizona Diamondbacks, FanDuel Sports Network reporter Jim Day offered his analysis of Greene's most recent injury. Day reported that Greene's MRI came back clean, however, the right-hander is experiencing discomfort in his lower back and hip-area. Day went on to report that Greene is not with the team at this time, and his current stint on the IL will be more of a week-by-week assessment rather than day-by-day.

That would seem to signal that Greene might be out for quite some time. As such, Burns will effectively be on stand-by at Triple-A Louisville. Outside of Chase Petty, there's not another starter Cincinnati can turn to at the moment. Carson Spiers is still on the 60-day IL, as are Rhett Lowder, Brandon Williamson, and Julian Aguiar. If Miley stumbles, it's quite possible that Burns could be the next man up.

Though not even a year into his professional career, Burns has already shown that minor-league competition doesn't stand a chance against his fastball/ slider combination. The fireballer will certainly be tested at Triple-A, but if he continues to overwhelm opponents in the upper minor leagues, there's only one thing left to do — see if he can compete against the best in the world.

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