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Milwaukee Brewers: Assessing starting rotation options

By Kenny Jilek

MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 05: Starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin #45 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws in the fourth inning of Game Two of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park on October 5, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - OCTOBER 05: Starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin #45 of the Milwaukee Brewers throws in the fourth inning of Game Two of the National League Division Series against the Colorado Rockies at Miller Park on October 5, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 16: Corbin Burnes #39 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 16: Corbin Burnes #39 of the Milwaukee Brewers delivers a pitch in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Four of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium on October 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Corbin Burnes

Corbin Burnes was possibly the most impressive of the young trio in the 2018 season. He dazzled out of the bullpen with a 7-0 record and 2.61 ERA. Burnes came through the minors quickly as a starter and was highly touted as the Brewers stud pitching prospect. When he was brought up to the MLB roster as a starter he took his role without missing a beat and pitched extremely well pitching 9 innings over 6 games to a 2.00 ERA. He was fantastic out of the bullpen, but he has three very good pitches that are better suited for a starter.

Burnes boasts three very good pitches in a mid-90s fastball, wipeout slider, and filthy curveball. His fastball was his reliable pitch to get weak contact. He threw it 58.7% of the time in 2018 and opposing batters hit a measly .174 against it. His slider got opponents uncomfortable and induced many swing-and-misses with a whiff% of 47.1%. His curve was the least effective pitch in 2018 with the highest walk rate of his pitches at 12.5% and an opponent batting average of .429, but that is only 3 for 7 in a very small sample size. He threw it the least of any pitch, but it did get a respectable whiff% of 33.3% and I expect him to mix it in even more in 2019 and see better numbers. When asked about his mix of pitches and being a starter in 2019 by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he had this to say:

"“I mixed in the curveball and slider out of the pen … obviously we didn’t throw the changeup much because we didn’t need a fourth pitch,” he said. “I’d mix it more in as a starter.” “What I heard last, the plan is to go back to starting next year, but that’s a long ways off”"

Burnes is primed to become a starter for this team. There have been many reports, including from Craig Counsell and Burnes himself that he will be in the rotation when Opening Day rolls around. At 24 years old he is poised to be a mainstay in the Brewers rotation for years to come.

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