Pirates' plan for top prospect seems geared towards an MLB rotation spot

Starting pitching throughout the Pirates organization is very deep, ranging through every single level. Triple-A, though, has a high proportion of the top talent knocking on the door of Pittsburgh, and another one seems to be getting built up to join the Pirates rotation this season.

Mike Burrows, the Pirates' 15th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, got a few starts in spring training, but only accrued five total innings. Even after throwing around 50 innings in 2024 in his recovering season from Tommy John surgery, Burrows is in position to pitch on four days rest to open up 2025, which is something teams don't often do in the minor leagues, given their six game days in a row following a Monday off day.

Burrows pitched last week for Indianapolis in their home opener, throwing 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out four. That's great in its own right, but he is also scheduled to start again on Sunday.

That seems like a big workload for the young right-hander, who has yet to come even within 40 innings of his career high of 94.1 innings in one season, set back in 2022. Not even Paul Skenes is pitching on four days rest these days, which is why Thomas Harrington made his major league debut against the Rays on the day he did.

The Pirates are building up Mike Burrows on a major league starter schedule, implying that he could join the rotation this summer.

After making his MLB debut in 2024 out of the bullpen, where he picked up his first career win and struck out two, while allowing one earned run in 3.1 innings, it's intriguing to see Pittsburgh pivot so early. After all, given his lack of innings, it made a lot of sense for him to try out being a long reliever in the Pittsburgh bullpen before making the permanent move back to the rotation.

Burrows does have decent numbers, too, posting a 4.06 ERA with a WHIP of 1.41 and a K/9 of 10.75 in Triple-A last season. That was in a limited starter role with his recovery, so we will get a true look at what he has as a starter now that he is fully healthy.

The Pirates definitely want to be prepared in the event of injury after losing Jared Jones for a while. Johan Oviedo is recovering, but not close to returning just yet. Hopefully, Pittsburgh doesn't continue to deal with injury problems, but if they crop up, Burrows appears to be the next man up with this throwing schedule.