Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: 2022 Minor League Statistical Leaders

Fielding Independent Pitching (Starter)
Mike Burrows

Mike Burrows made massive strides in 2022. Although his ERA might not reflect it, he had arguably his best season, development-wise. The right-hander went from a reliever outlook to a starter outlook in one season. Burrows made it to Triple-A and will likely make his debut sometime early in 2023.

Again, his ERA doesn’t tell the full story. He allowed six earned runs in his final start of the season, bloating his ERA from 3.46 to 4.01. But he still struck out 28.2% of the batters he faced while having a walk rate of just 7.9%. Burrows’ K:BB ratio was second among all starters, with a 3.58 rate. Plus, he had a solid 0.76 HR/9. This led to a 3.29 FIP, which was much better than his ERA.

Burrows has consistently shown some of the highest spin rates for his fastball and curveball. But his change-up has come a far way since being drafted in the 10th round of the 2018 draft. There were questions as to whether or not he would be able to handle himself at the upper levels of the minor leagues, but he clearly has.

With next season being the right-hander’s age-23 season, we’ll surely get to see him in the major leagues. By the end of the year, he could form a formidable rotation alongside Quinn Priester, Mitch Keller, Roansy Contreras, and Luis Ortiz. That starting five has a ton of potential.