Pirates' Mike Burrows earned late-season debut with impressive turnaround

With the Pirates season coming to a close, Mike Burrows, the team's 16th ranked prospect, will be joining the team via the taxi squad, with an appearance this weekend now likely. The 24-year-old right-hander recovered from Tommy John surgery this season and put together a solid campaign, which resulted in his late promotion.

Burrows did not begin pitching until the middle of June and struggled at first, but once he began consistently throwing, he got back to that top prospect form he once showed.

Mike Burrows will finish a solid season with a promotion to the Pirates Taxi Squad.

On the year, Burrows has a 5.26 earned run average in 51.1 innings pitched with a 1.54 WHIP. Inititally that does not look great, but Burrows struggled with control in the Florida Complex League and Bradenton. Those were his first rehab outings back after his surgery, where these results are typically expected.

Once he started to see more innings added to his workload in Indianapolis, Burrows started pitching more efficiently. In 10 outings in Triple-A, Burrows posted a 4.06 earned run average with a WHIP of 1.41 and 45 strikeouts. Opponents also batted .253 against him. Overall, those are average numbers, but there are definitely positives to take from this season into his major league debut.

His fastball this season has gotten rocked, with an expected slugging percentage of .636. That is not great, as it is his most used pitch, but if he can get his good offspeeds working, then he will be effective. Opponents struggle against his changeup, as it has an expected batting average of .115, an expected slugging percentage of .150 and a whiff rate of 50%. His breaking pitches are also impressive, carrying an expected batting average of .186, expected slugging percentage of .285, and a whiff rate of 35.7%.

Burrows was officially added to the taxi squad prior to Game 1 against the Yankees, which could indicate a potential debut this weekend. His journey back from Tommy John this season was a long ride, but now he is back and getting a shot with Pittsburgh. If he does well, this could be a great first impression for a spot on the Opening Day roster in 2025.