Milwaukee Brewers: A scouting report on new call up Corbin Burnes

Scouting Report

Size/Delivery/Control

Size – Corbin Burnes is very solidly built at 6’3″ and 205 pounds. I’d say the 6’3″ is accurate, but the 205 could be 10-15 pounds light, but Burnes is built very athletically, with good muscle build from his thighs up through his shoulders.

Delivery – From his delivery, Burnes is very deliberate, staying tall through his delivery, and using good arm action from a high 3/4 slot to get plane on all of his pitches. He generates good body momentum toward the plate in his delivery with his methodical, numbers-high lift of his knee in his delivery, falling just a bit to the first base side from that momentum at the end of his delivery.

From the stretch, Burnes simplifies plenty, featuring just a waist-high knee lift before he drives toward the plate with a similar high 3/4 arm slot, though he has a more pronounced fall to the first base side in his follow-through from the stretch as it seems he’s needing to calm down his momentum of his delivery.

Control (55) – Something I would have tagged with a pure 60 based on 2017 performance has seen just a tick of downturn this season, and much of it does have to do with his pitch array trying to pitch in Colorado. When a pitcher relies on spin rate pitches in that thin air, it can do terrible things to both command and control. That’s why I’m not ready to go to a straight 50 on the control, but it’s definitely something to note the could take some time in the bigs to fully polish off again.

Pitches

Fastball (60) – Burnes gets excellent plane on his fastball, with both his four-seam and two-seam pitches having some natural cut to them. He likes to work the four-seam at the top of the zone and can touch 98-99 with that, and in relief stints, he had some triple-digit radar readings, but he’ll sit more in the 93-95 range as a starter and the 94-97 range as a reliever.

Split-Finger (60) – This is the pitch that has so many people confused with Burnes. Many report the pitch as a split-change or a changeup with split-finger action. After watching a ton of video and trying to get a good view on it, it appears that Burnes is simply throwing a traditional split-finger fastball, letting the ball get fully back into his hand like the traditional grip, working at 86-88 in the rotation and 89-91 as a reliever, with hard, split action.

Curve Ball (60) – Unfortunately, this is the pitch that has seen the most struggle this year, and it was his best pitch coming into the season of what was a pretty balanced repertoire. Burnes throws his curve with a very high spin rate, getting a sharp, 12-6 action on the pitch that bites late and leaves hitters swinging at air. However, it’s exactly the air that has left the curve more ineffective in 2018 as the thin air in Colorado Springs means that pitch has an inconsistent break and is often landing outside of the zone.

Slider (55) – Coming out of college, Burnes would likely have referred to his best two-pitch combination as his fastball and slider. His slider is still a definite weapon, a pitch that he works in the upper 80s with frequency and has seen work into the 91-92 range as a reliever. He can get a bit “aimed” with the slider, trying to generate movement with it, and he’ll lose command of the pitch.

Next: Future Role/Player Comp