photo: Mason Burns (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
In a FREE article, The Cardinal Nation’s Top 50 prospect countdown for 2026 opens with a first-year reliever who earned two in-season promotions. Mason Burns finished 2025 at Double-A Springfield and shined in the playoffs.
Position: Relief pitcher
Age: 23 years old
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6’3, 215 pounds
Acquired: Selected in the 14th round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, number 411 overall
Hometown: Bloomington, IL
College: Western Kentucky
Opened 2025: Palm Beach Cardinals (Low-A)
Primary team in 2025: Palm Beach Cardinals (Low-A)
Finished 2025: Springfield Cardinals (Double-A)
Prior Top 50 rankings – none
Click on the above photo to be taken to Burns’ player page at The Cardinal Nation, with additional biography and history information.
2025 highlights
| Tm | IP | G | GS | ERA | WHIP | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB | FIP | xFIP | BABIP |
| Spr/Peo/PB | 58.1 | 40 | 0 | 3.39 | 1.23 | 12.2 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 3.58 | 3.23 | 0.279 |
Kyle Reis’ scouting report
Kyle’s ranking – no. 41
What a terrifically fun prospect to start our list with.
There are few things I love as much about prospects as I love the budding of potential of late-round draft picks. So, starting the list with a former 14th round closer from a school like Western Kentucky is a true delight.
I’m going to try my hardest not to get carried away with some of the finer points of scouting in these write-ups. Let’s just get down to brass tacks, and the brass tacks with Burns is a heater and slider combination that gives him a real chance at a major league debut.
His slider in particular is *THE* pitch. When you watch it from the camera angle facing the back of the pitcher, it has all the characteristics that you’d equate with a world class curveball, except for the spike lift out of the hand. It just “falls off the table”. I’m trying my hardest to not go down the “deathball” route here, but I am just bringing it up to give you an idea of what we are working with.
I went out of my way to say “heater/slider” combo for Burns, even though he also throws a sinker, because those two pitches work best off each other. Both Burns’ sinker and heater offerings live in the mid 90’s, and they can get into the 97-mph range. I like the action of both pitches. The sinker should get enough groundball work and the heater should set up the slider well enough to be potential ML offerings with continued command harnessing.
Burns has also messed around with a changeup, but I don’t think that I care about that at all right now. Because of the movement profile of the slider, I think the argument could be made to include a cutter to compliment the sinker/heater and to throw off a hitter’s balance and eye level.
The entire apparatus starts with a really smooth throwing motion. There’s nothing flashy or fancy from this 6-foot-3 righty, and Burns is rearing back and throwing it. He doesn’t have crazy extension or release characteristics, but he is certainly repeatable. Sure, sometimes his balance is a little off and he’ll drift to the glove side, but it doesn’t seem like a big issue.
Like with nearly every relief pitcher we’ll be talking about in the organization and in baseball, the fulcrum of his success will be weighed by how well he harnesses the command of his entire arsenal.
Brian Walton’s environmental impact report
Brian’s ranking – no. 59
Burns did not make my personal Top 50, but the strength of Kyle’s support brought him into the rankings.
Background
In two years at Western Kentucky, a member of Conference USA, Burns saved 19 games and struck out 118 hitters in 90 innings.
As a senior, Burns broke WKU’s single season saves record and finished second in Division 1 with 15 saves in 28 appearances. He posted a 3-3 record with a 4.00 ERA while striking out 52 batters in 35 innings and with only 13 walks.
Burns played at Illinois State during his freshman and sophomore seasons.
2025 recap
The right-hander did not pitch after signing for $80,000, making his professional debut in April 2025 with Palm Beach.
In 28 1/3 innings over 20 relief outings, Burns posted a 3.49 ERA. He held Florida State League batters to a collective .202 average and struck out 43 against 19 walks. Burns was just three-for-six in save opportunities, however.
Burns’ work earned him a promotion to High-A Peoria on July 2. His results in the Midwest League were even more impressive than in Florida. In 27 innings over 17 games in relief, he logged a 2.33 ERA. Burns held batters to a .179 average to go with 32 strikeouts and 10 walks. He earned four saves in five chances.
On September 9, as Peoria’s season had concluded, the 23-year-old earned his second promotion of his initial season of pro action.
In his first three Double-A innings over two games, Burns was touched for four runs. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out four.
As Springfield stormed to the Texas League title, Burns was exceptional in the playoffs. In three games, two innings, he allowed no hits, collected two saves in two opportunities with an ERA of 0.00.
For the 2025 regular season, Burns tied for third in the system with seven saves, tied for fifth with 40 appearances and tied for second with 21 games finished. His 3.39 ERA ranked seventh among organization relievers with at least 40 innings pitched.
The rest of Burns’ full season stats are listed above. While his strikeout rate of 12.2 per nine innings is solid, his walk rate of 4.8 per nine needs improvement. To his credit, Burns did cut his walks almost in half with Peoria, but his K rate also dropped by three per nine compared to Palm Beach.
2026 outlook
It seems almost certain that Burns will spend some, if not all of, 2026 with Springfield. That is clearly a positive for a pitcher opening his second full professional season.
Burns should receive the opportunity to compete for late inning action for the Double-A Cardinals. Will there be enough beyond his standout slider to carry him all the way to St. Louis? It is all in his hands.
Future outlook
Future Value: 35
Role: AAAA guy/reserve
Risk: Moderate
Just because Burns is not yet a consensus Top 50 prospect, it doesn’t mean the slider specialist cannot have a major league career ahead. After all, just 12 months ago, Nathan Church didn’t receive enough support to make our Top 50. He went on to spend the last six weeks of the 2025 season with St. Louis.
Now that Burns has reached the upper levels of the minors, his 2026 will give us a lot more to go on.
Because of Burns’ rapid progression in 2025, the Cardinals have two more seasons to evaluate his progress before being required to make a Rule 5 decision about him. A best-case scenario has Burns reaching St. Louis before then, late in the 2027 season, though it would most likely be in an up-and down role, at least to start.
Even if so, it would be a good return from a 14th-rounder.
MLB debut: 2027
Rule 5 eligible: 2027
Our 2026 Top 50 series continues
To see the entire list of top Cardinals prospects, grading scales and remaining article schedule, click here. This includes the Top 50 countdown and 10 in-depth, follow-up articles breaking down the list.
50 Days, 50 Nights, 50 St. Louis Cardinals Prospects for 2026
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Brian Walton can be reached via email at brian@thecardinalnation.com. Follow Brian and The Cardinal Nation on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.
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