The difference between struggling for survival in the big leagues and potential greatness? In the case of right-handed Corbin Burnes of Milwaukee Brewers, just a little adjustment in the way he grabs a baseball.
It is no exaggeration to suggest that Burnes was the worst yard in the majors two seasons ago, when he was 1-5 with an 8.82 era and allowed a staggering 17 home runs in 49 overs. His transformation began that season when he began toying with a new pitch; then he broke out in 2020 and won the National League ERA crown almost by a 2.11 point. And now he’s the hottest pitcher on the planet.
The 26-year-old Burnes broke down a struggling Chicago Cubs offense in a 7-0 victory on Wednesday, hitting 10 batsmen without runs and two shots over six overs. His season line after three starts: 1-1, 18⅓ IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 30 SO.
“Someone just told me there was no walk, 30 strikeouts,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said after the game. “It must be pretty historic to start a season, I’m not sure, but it’s an incredible stat.”
This is historical. Only three pitchers started a season with more strikes without reaching a step:
Kenley Jansen, 2017: 51
Adam Wainwright, 2013: 35
Noah Syndergaard, 2017: 31
In 2019, the league knocked out 0.330 from Burnes. They hit .067 off him in 2021, as Burnes waved 30 of the 62 batsmen he faced. The difference makes: a wicked cutter who will make Mariano Rivera proud.
What’s interesting is that the field actually started as a slider that Burnes tried to develop after the disastrous 2019 season.
“I had the idea in the off-season to throw two slides,” Burnes said Tuesday during a Zoom call with reporters. “It was the slider we saw earlier in ’18 and ’19, and then a harder, tighter slider that eventually turned into this cutter. At one point, I threw two different sliders – one with a little more depth. , one with a little more horizontal – and the curveball for more vertical, so I’m going to come in with three break heights. When we went to practice in the spring, we realized it was going to be more of a cutter, and that’s when we ‘ make some adjustments: Let’s make it a real cutter versus a slider with a little depth, and I will not worry about things merging. ‘
That little adjustment in the grip – from move to cutter – changed everything. In 2019, Burnes was primarily a four-ball fast-ball / slider pitcher that mixed in a few curves and changes. The problem: Batters absolutely destroyed his fast ball and hit 0.425 against it. According to Mike Petriello of MLB.com, Burnes’ wOBA allowed on his fast ball was the second worst of the off-road era (since 2008).
Now, in possession of this inviolable cutter, Burnes has essentially beaten the four-seater. Against the Cubs, he throws 42 cutters from his 81 stands and just nine quick balls (seven of those two). Yes, it also helps if the cutter enters 97 km / h and is part of a deadly six-pitch arsenal: cutter, curveball, slider, conversion, two-seater, four-seater.
Of course, it’s not all that simple as having one new pitch. Burnes now throws exclusively out of the piece. He said he focused on getting the curve and change on the same level as the cutter and shift judge. He is with the highest confidence.
“Mentally I was locked up for 18 innings,” he said.
As in the case of Rivera, Burnes was apparently pretty easy for Burnes, a natural outgrowth of his fast ball.
‘I could always turn the ball very well; that was quite my calling card, ‘Burnes said on Tuesday. ‘Even throwing a four-ball fast ball, it’s always had a bit of a cut in the past. In ’18 we were able to get away with it. In ’19 it was one of those things where I did not do it. I can not throw it in the strike zone, but I do not know where it will be.
“With a few things we cleared, with a few ball position things in hand, we were able to take it and basically it’s the cutter. When I throw it, I think of the process of getting a four-seam. “To throw a fast ball. To me, I think it’s become such an easy pitch. It’s something I’ve been throwing all my life.”
There is no reason to think that he can not sustain this new level, except that he must prove that he can do it more than 30 times. The list of pitchers that can match his speed, movement and pitch selection – the list can start and end with Jacob deGrom – is short. Burnes looks like a legitimate Cy Young contender.