Mason
Burns

Verbally committed to Illinois State.

2/10/19 - 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-handed pitcher, solid thick build, durable body type. Smooth easy delivery, tall and fall type, lands square, stays on line, slide steps out of the stretch. Clean loose arm action, short draw, quick arm, early finish, high ¾ slot. Showed feel for three pitches. Fastball is straight, occasional late life, worked downhill at the bottom of the zone, 86-87 mph. Slider is sharp, fastball arm speed, downer action at times, good feel for the zone, 76-78 mph. Straight changeup flashed arm side action, fastball arm speed, 81-83 mph.

6.6.18 - 6-foot-3, 170-pound, right-handed pitcher, wiry, athletic frame, plenty of room for continued development. Stretch only delivery, sturdy, flat foot balance point, utilizes lower half to extend down the mound, works straight to home, heel first open landing, athletic finish with easy effort. Full, short arm swing, loose arm action, arm speed gradually picks up after hand break, clean high ¾ slot, rhythm and tempo throughout. Fastball works downhill, flashed run with occasional heavy sink, 83-86 mph. Curveball, 12/6 shape, occasional depth and bite, 71-74 mph. Changeup worked down, swing and miss drop action with arm speed,77-80 mph.

2.18.18 - 6-foot-2, 165-pound right-handed pitcher, long lean frame, that projects, wide shoulders, thin waist through hips. Easy tall and fall delivery, works online, smooth in rhythm. Arm action is quick, high ¾ slot, easy arm speed projects. Fastball is mostly straight, four seam type, 81-84 mph. Curveball works sharply on 11/5 plane, fastball arm speed, has feel and depth, 68-70 mph. Changeup has arm side run and sink, 79-81 mph.

1.27.18 - 6-foot-2, 165-pound, athletically built, two-way prospect with plenty of room for continued physical development. Highly projectable on the mound. Right-handed pitcher, pounded the zone with three pitches. Smooth, repeatable delivery, stays on-line, lands square and finishes athletically. Short, clean arm action, high ¾ slot and easy effort throughout. Fastball thrown for strikes, sat 78-80 mph early on and warmed up to 83-84 mph late in his bullpen. Curveball, feel, occasional depth, 11/5 shape. 67-68 mph. Changeup, thrown for strikes, 74-78 mph. At the plate, right-handed hitter, open setup, short stride. Bat stays flat through the zone at times, line-drive approach and ability to backspin the baseball occasionally. Defensively, behind the plate, tall setup, clean transfer and throws topped at 75 mph. Pop times ranged between 2.22-2.36. Ran a 7.82 60.

7/10/20: Ranked No. 25 in the 2020 Illinois prep class, Burns has had no trouble adjusting to college level hitters. During his first start, he struck out five in 3.1 IP, allowing just one unearned run and no hits. He pounds the zone with a lively 91-94 mph fastball. It’s a putaway pitch that he can work in/out and spot up to finish hitters. Burns will also show an above average breaking ball with hard, sharp action at 80-82 mph and a fringe quality 82-83 mph changeup that spins similar to his heater. During a Trackman session earlier this summer, Burns averaged 90.8 mph with average spin rate of 2333 rpm, 16.2” of induced vertical break and 13.5” horizontal movement. His curveball averaged 79.2 mph, spinning at 2469 rpm with a 7:45 tilt. There is some effort to his delivery with a head jerk finish after ball release, but he undoubtedly has the weapons and control to make an immediate impact for the Redbirds this spring. Look for Burns to become more of a household name with the professional scouting community in the near future.