MLB Draft Best Bets

Johnny V joins You better You bet to give his favorite pick for the MLB Draft

Transcript

00:00Yeah, I've been following Chase Burns for three years since he was a freshman at Tennessee.

00:04This is a guy that was a highly touted prospect out of high school.

00:08He's a guy that just blew up in his freshman year, had an unreal season.

00:12The stuff was there from day one, and he took a step back as a sophomore last season.

00:18And because he was struggling, Tony V, the head coach, removed him from the starting

00:22rotation and put him in the bullpen as the hybrid closer, and he excelled.

00:26But Burns took exception.

00:28There was just irrevocable changes with the brass, and he didn't want to come back.

00:35From my inside sources, and I can't 100% confirm this, when Burns wanted to transfer,

00:41I think Vanderbilt was his original top choice, but the Commodores didn't want him, and Wake

00:45Forest was really the only big team that was willing to take a shot on Chase Burns.

00:51I can't 100% confirm that, but it was the best place for him.

00:55And I think ultimately Chase Burns is a guy that has made a huge leap because before this

01:00year, he was just all stuff and not much polish, but the Wake Pitching Lab polished him up.

01:06Last July, I said I think Chase Burns, after he gets polished from Wake Forest, is going

01:12to have the higher MLB ceiling than Paul Skeens, and I believe that.

01:15This kid is an electric factory on the mound.

01:17He's 100-101, gets up to 102 with this fastball.

01:21He has the second-best slider in all of baseball, regardless of level, in the entire sport,

01:27only behind Dylan Cease.

01:29Think about a guy throwing 100-102 on this plane, and then having a 90-mile-an-hour slider

01:35coming on the same plane and then falling off the table.

01:37Dylan Cease has that same slider, and I think Burns took a page out of his book because

01:42it is a true 12-6, and he's still pretty solid with the changeup in the curve.

01:47The walks are not really an issue.

01:49The strikeouts are off the chart.

01:50He had a 17.2K-9 this year, and he looks ready to be the next Paul Skeens in terms of a college

01:59superstar talent coming into the draft, going to an MLB team.

02:03I think Chase Burns, honestly, is ready to go up to the Major League sometime early next

02:08year and follow in Skeens' footsteps.

02:10This kid's the real deal, and I'm really excited, man, because this is a guy that I'm going

02:14to be looking to bet for Rookie of the Year, regardless of league, sometime next season.