Milwaukee Brewers Prospect Corbin Burnes off to a Ridiculous Start in 2017
By Tim Boyle
Milwaukee Brewers prospect Corbin Burnes is ranked only 20th in the franchise’s farm system according to MLB Pipeline. Last year’s fourth-round draft pick still has a long way to go before he sees any big league action. However, his amazing start in 2017 could accelerate him to an MLB debut sooner than originally expected.
Burnes has made ten starts for the Single-A Carolina Mudcats of the Carolina League. He’s undefeated with a 5-0 record and an even more ridiculous 1.05 ERA. In addition to this, Burnes is averaging six innings per start and is striking out batters at a rate of 8.4 per nine innings. There doesn’t seem to be a single weakness in his game right now as Burnes continues to cruise through each start.
This season is a continuation of what Burnes did last season in 35 2/3 innings at the lower levels of the minor leagues. At Rookie Ball and Low-A , Burnes combined to go 3-0 working as a starter and reliever. His 2.02 ERA and 10.3 strikeouts per nine were just a preview of what was to come.
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Burnes is doing more than keeping runs off the scoreboard and striking out batters. He is also working hard to master his control. Walks were an issue for him last year as he delivered an average of 4.5 per nine. This year, the rate has dropped to 2.4 per nine.
The 22-year-old righty began the year in the rearview mirror among the Brewers’ top pitching prospects. Nine other Brewers minor league pitchers are ranked higher than him. This includes Top 100 prospects Josh Hader and Luiz Ortiz.
On the surface, Burnes might look like surplus talent. No one knows more than the Brewers how quickly a top prospect can see his star fall. Brett Phillips, Phil Bickford, and Jacob Nottingham are clear examples of this. All three are former Top 100 prospects no longer included on MLB.com’s list. For someone like Burnes to unexpectedly explode is great news.
Burnes is currently riding a six-game quality start streak. The late April start right before this streak began was his lone outing this season where he gave up more than one earned run. It was Burnes’ low-point of the season as he saw his ERA inflate to a season-worst 1.65.
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Two starts ago, Burnes reached the high-points. He struck out a season-high ten batters while also throwing seven shutout frames in his team’s victory.
One thing the 2017 Brewers really lack is a young, stud starting pitcher. Burnes is far from a household name. If he keeps this up, anticipation of his debut will grow among Brewers fans.