Pittsburgh Pirates prospects who should be promoted to the major leagues immediately

Mike Burrows

Mike Burrows had the potential to make an impact in 2023, but his season ended before it really even began. The right-handed pitching prospect underwent Tommy John surgery in April, just two starts into his season. But Burrows is back in action, and considering he is already on the 40-man roster, it’s time for him to help bolster the Pirates’ big league pitching staff.

In 2022, the last time Burrows was given an extended look, he pitched 94.1 innings between Altoona and Indy, working to a 4.01 ERA, 3.29 FIP, and 1.21 WHIP. Burrows struck out 28.2% of opponents with a 7.9% walk rate, and 0.76 HR/9. His numbers are a bit inflated, as he allowed six earned runs and one home run in just 0.2 IP in his final game of the season. Prior to that outing, Burrows had a 3.46 ERA, 3.11 FIP, and 1.15 WHIP.

Burrows made a handful of rehab appearances between the Florida Complex League and A-Ball Bradenton, but he is now back in action at Indianapolis. Since returning to Triple-A, Burrows has pitched 12.1 innings and has allowed five earned runs and two home runs, walking just one batter and punching out 14. 

Burrows hasn’t seemed to miss a beat in terms of stuff. His four-seam fastball is sitting 94-95 MPH with good ride through the strike zone. Burrows is throwing two breaking balls, including an upper-80s slider with high spin, as well as an upper-70s curveball. His curve has over 50 inches of drop. Burrows has greatly improved his changeup over the last few seasons. It is now a mid-80s pitch with 28 inches of drop and 13.5 inches of break. Burrows has always been able to control his stuff well and hasn’t posted a walk rate above 9% since 2021.

The Pirates could definitely use a good arm on their active roster. Right now, their long-relief options include Jake Woodford and Domingo German. Ben Heller is also on the active roster. Burrows would be a huge improvement over all three. While the Pirates are understandably taking things slow, given that he just returned from Tommy John surgery in mid-June, they could let him build up his workload in the major leagues, help a team in need of pitching, and potentially put himself in a position to compete for a rotation spot next season.