Scouting Report: Burnes has the four-pitch repertoire of a starter and pounds the strike zone with all of those pitches, keeping hitters on the defensive. With a quick arm action, he throws his fastball in the 93-95 mph range with natural movement, doing a good job of keeping it down in the strike zone. He relied more on his above-average mid-80s slider in 2018, which was death on righthanded hitters when he put it where he wanted. Burnes mixes in an upper-80s split-changeup and upper-70s curveball, both average, that give opponents more pitches to process. He maintains his stuff deep into starts with plus control and can be a groundball machine when he keeps his fastball low in the zone. The Brewers love the way Burnes competes and shows great mound presence even under stress.
The Future: Burnes will audition for the big league rotation in 2019. His confidence and conviction in his pitches is apparent, and the Brewers think he is a star in the making.
