Reds' disrespect hits new low after Chase Burns was snubbed in latest MLB poll

Chase Burns has been the best pitcher on the best team in the best division in baseball since the 2026 season began. That may not mean as much in May as it does in September, but it's still a ridiculously impressive fact that should thrust the Cincinnati Reds fireballer into the early-season Cy Young conversation.

Nevertheless, much like the Cincinnati Reds as a whole, Burns continues to be disrespected by the national media. Despite being one of just four teams in the league with 20 or more wins entering the month of May, most so-called experts and pundits refuse to acknowledge the Reds as true contenders. Now they're refusing to acknowledge Burns' candidacy for the NL Cy Young Award.

MLB.com polled 39 national writers to see who were the early frontrunners for the top pitching award in the National League. The faces at the top of the conversation — Paul Skenes, Nolan McLean, and Shohei Ohtani — are hardly surprising and are worthy candidates at this stage of the season.

But as you can probably guess from this preamble, Burns didn't feature in the conversation...at all. Chris Sale and Yoshinobu Yamamoto rounded out the top-5, with a laundry list of pitchers receiving honorable mentions. And yet, the Reds' right-hander, despite owning a 2.65 ERA and 28.5% strikeout rate through the first month of the season, couldn't garner so much as a single vote.

Reds fireballer Chase Burns will force his way into the Cy Young conversation

The season is only a month old, so it's difficult to contend with any of the players who received votes given the small sample size. Colorado Rockies starter Chase Dollander has been the leader of a surprisingly competent pitching staff. San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller has a negative FIP and has been lights out to begin the year. And Justin Wrobleski looks like the latest breakout from the Los Angeles Dodgers' pitching lab.

That being said, how does someone like Jacob Misiorowski (3.31 ERA) or Freddy Peralta (3.90 ERA) earn recognition ahead of Burns? It's not like team success is aiding their cause; the Milwaukee Brewers entered May 3½ games back of the Reds in the NL Central, while the New York Mets are the rightful owners of the worst record in baseball.

Burns has become the face of a pitching staff that is currently without two of its best arms (Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo) and getting subpar contributions from its replacement ace Andrew Abbott.

If Burns continues at this pace, they won't be able to keep him out of the Cy Young conversation forever. The fact that what he's done already isn't enough to garner consideration — likely because he plays for the league's most disrespected team — will only fuel his desire to prove the critics wrong.

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