The difference between fighting for survival in the big leagues and potential greatness? In the case of Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes, he just needs to change the way he picks up a baseball.
It is no exaggeration to suggest that two seasons ago, Burnes was the worst pitcher in the major categories, when he scored 1-5 with an ERA of 8.82 and allowed an impressive 17 homers in 49 innings. His transformation began that low season, when he began to play with a new tone; then exploded in 2020 and almost won the ERA crown of the National League with a mark of 2.11. And now, it’s the hottest pitcher on the planet.
The 26-year-old Burnes dismantled a Chicago Cubs offensive lineman on Wednesday in a 7-0 win, eliminating 10 walkers without a walk and twice in six innings. His season line after three starts: 1-1, 18⅓ IP, 4H, 1R, 0 BB, 30 SO.
“Someone told me there were no roads, 30 attacks,” said Craig Counsell, manager of the post-match brewers. “That has to be pretty historic to start a season, I’m not sure, but that’s an amazing statistic.”
It is historic. Only three pitchers have started a season with more kicks without launching on foot:
Kenley Jansen, 2017: 51
Adam Wainwright, 2013: 35
Noah Syndergaard, 2017: 31
In 2019, the league reached .330 in Burnes. In 2021 they give him 0.67, as Burnes has aired 30 of the 62 batters he has faced. The difference: an evil cutter that would make Mariano Rivera proud.
The interesting thing is that the playing field actually started as a slider that Burnes tried to develop after this disastrous 2019 season.
“I had the idea to lower the season by throwing two sliders,” Burnes said in a Zoom call to reporters Tuesday. “It was the slider we had seen earlier on the 18th and 19th and then a harder, tighter slider, which eventually became this cutter. So at one point, I threw two different sliders: a with a little more depth, one with a little more horizontal, and the curve ball for more vertical, so I was going in with three break throws.When we started training in the spring, we realized it would be more soon, and that’s when we made some adjustments: we make it a real cutter versus a slider with some depth and I wouldn’t worry about things getting combined. ”
That little modification of grip (from slider to cutter) changed everything. In 2019, Burnes had been primarily a four-seam fast / sliding ball pitcher, mixing some curves and changes. The problem: Batters absolutely destroyed his fast ball and hit .425 against. According to MLB.com’s Mike Petriello, Burnes ’WOBA allowed on his fast ball was the second worst of the pitch tracking era (since 2008).
Now, in ownership of this immovable cutter, Burnes has essentially abandoned the four-seam cutter. Against the Cubs, he threw 42 cutters out of his 81 throws and only nine fastballs (seven of those two seamers). Yes, it also helps when this cutter reaches 97 mph and is part of a lethal arsenal of six pitches: cutter, curveball, slider, changeup, two-seamer, four-seamer.
Of course, it’s not as simple as having a new tone. Burnes throws exclusively off the stretch now. He said he has focused on getting the curve ball and shift to change at the same level as the cutter and slider. He is throwing with supreme confidence.
“Mentally, I’ve been locked up for 18 entries,” he said.
As was the case with Rivera, the cutter was apparently quite easy for Burnes, a natural result of his fast ball.
“I’ve always been able to spin the ball really well; this is my calling card,” Burnes had said Tuesday. “Even throwing a quick four-seam ball, in the past I always had a bit of cutting action. On the 18th we were able to get out of it. On the 19th it was one of those things where I didn’t do it. I could throw it. lo in the strike zone, but he didn’t know where he was going to be.
“With a few things we cleaned up, with a few things that positioned the ball in our hand, we were able to catch it and it’s basically the cutter. When I throw it, I’m thinking about the process of throwing a fast four-seam ball. I think that’s why it’s become such an easy playing field. It’s something I’ve thrown away all my life. “
There’s no reason to think you can’t maintain this new level, other than having to prove you can do it for more than 30 starts. The list of pitchers that can match your speed, movement, and pitch selection (this list can start and end with Jacob deGrom) is short. Burnes seems like a legitimate Cy Young candidate.