Corbin Brian Burnes (born October 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and Baltimore Orioles.

Corbin Burnes
Burnes with the Baltimore Orioles in 2024
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1994-10-22) October 22, 1994 (age 30)
Bakersfield, California, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 10, 2018, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record60–36
Earned run average3.19
Strikeouts1,051
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

The Brewers selected Burnes in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2018. Burnes is a four-time All-Star. He won the National League Cy Young Award in 2021, when he led the National League (NL) in earned run average. He led the NL in strikeouts in 2022.

Amateur career

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Burnes attended Centennial High School in Bakersfield, California. In 2013, his senior year, he had a 9–4 win–loss record with a 2.23 earned run average (ERA) in 22 appearances.[1] After high school, he enrolled and played college baseball at Saint Mary's College of California.[2][3] In 2015, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4] In 2016, his junior year, he posted a 9–2 record with a 2.48 ERA in 16 starts. After the season, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[5]

Professional career

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Milwaukee Brewers

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Minor leagues

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Burnes made his professional debut with the Arizona League Brewers and was later promoted to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.[6] In 35+23 innings pitched between Arizona and Wisconsin, Burnes posted a 3–0 record with a 2.02 ERA. He started the 2017 season with the Carolina Mudcats and was later promoted to the Biloxi Shuckers after recording a 1.05 ERA after ten starts.[7][8] Burnes finished 2017 with a combined 8–3 record and 1.67 ERA between both teams.[9] The Brewers named him their minor league pitcher of the year after the season.[10]

MLB.com ranked Burnes as Milwaukee's second-best prospect going into the 2018 season.[11] He began the season with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.[12]

2018–2020

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Burnes with the Brewers in 2018

The Brewers promoted Burnes to the majors for the first time on July 8, 2018.[13] He made his major league debut on July 10, pitching two scoreless innings, striking out one, and recording his first major league save.[14] In the 2018 NLDS against the Colorado Rockies, he pitched four scoreless innings in relief across two appearances, earning the win in the clinching 6–0 Game 3 victory. In the 2018 NLCS, Burnes got the last six outs of their game six win against the Dodgers.[citation needed]

To start 2019, Burnes began the year in the starting rotation. However, he struggled in that role, allowing 11 home runs across his first 3 starts. It was announced he would move back to the bullpen. He continued to struggle in the bullpen, compiling a 9.00 ERA through 26 appearances. He was placed on the injured list on July 15 with shoulder discomfort. He finished the season with a 1–5 record and an 8.82 ERA in 49 innings.

In the shortened 2020 season, Burnes pitched to a 4–1 record and recorded an ERA of 2.11 while striking out 88 batters in 59+23 innings. He finished 6th in the NL Cy Young voting.[15]

2021

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Burnes struck out 40 batters without issuing a walk in his first four starts of 2021, an unprecedented four game stretch for an MLB starting pitcher.[16] On May 13, Burnes set the MLB record for the most strikeouts to begin a season before issuing a walk, with 58, surpassing the previous record held by Kenley Jansen.[17] Burnes was named to the 2021 MLB All-Star Game.[18] On August 12, Burnes tied an MLB record after striking out 10 consecutive batters in a game against the Chicago Cubs.[19]

On September 11, Burnes pitched the first eight innings of a combined no-hitter with Josh Hader against the Cleveland Indians, in which he struck out 14 batters. He held a perfect game until a seventh-inning walk to Myles Straw.[20] Burnes finished the 2021 season with an 11–5 record and led the major leagues in ERA (2.43), strikeouts per nine innings (12.6), home runs per nine innings (0.4), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.88).[21] He won the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the third Brewers pitcher to win the award.[22] He was also named to the first 2021 All-MLB Team as a starting pitcher.[23]

Burnes was selected as the starter for Game 1 of the 2021 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. Burnes pitched six shutout innings, striking out six. He was not credited with the win, however, as he battled in a tight pitchers' duel with Atlanta's Charlie Morton. Milwaukee won the game, 2–1.[citation needed]

2022

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On March 22, 2022, Burnes signed a $6.5 million contract with the Brewers, avoiding salary arbitration.[24] The Brewers named Burnes their Opening Day starting pitcher.[25] He was named to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game.[26]

In 2022, Burnes was 12–8 with a 2.94 ERA in 202 innings, and struck out a league-high 243 batters.[27] On defense, he had a .961 fielding percentage.[27] He was a finalist for the NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher, but it was won for the third straight season by Max Fried.[28]

2023

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Burnes went to salary arbitration with the Brewers, with the arbiter choosing the $10.01 million salary requested by the Brewers, rather than the $10.75 million requested by Burnes. He said that the process "definitely hurt" his relationship with the franchise.[29] Burnes started for the Brewers on Opening Day.[30] In 32 starts for Milwaukee, he posted a 10–8 record and 3.39 ERA with 200 strikeouts, and was named an All–Star for the third straight season.[31]

Baltimore Orioles

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On February 1, 2024, the Brewers traded Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for DL Hall, Joey Ortiz, and a compensatory draft pick.[32] He made 32 appearances (32 starts) for the Orioles in 2024, pitching to a 2.92 ERA and a 15-9 record with 181 strikeouts across 194.1 innings pitched.[33]

After the 2024 season, Burnes became a free agent.[34]

Pitching style

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Burnes is a power pitcher who has thrown six different pitches: a four-seam fastball between 94 and 97 MPH, a sinker between 95 and 97 MPH, a changeup between 88 and 91 MPH, a slider between 86 and 89 MPH, a curveball between 80 and 83 MPH, and a cut fastball between 93 and 96 MPH. He virtually abandoned his four-seamer after 2020 after finding far more success exclusively using his cutter.[35] In 2024, Burnes will debut a second curveball, about 5 MPH faster than his first, in strikeout situations.[36]

Personal life

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Burnes is the son of Rick and Kandi Burnes.[37]

Burnes and his wife Brooke were married in 2020;[38][39] they have two children.[40][41]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lynch, Stephen (February 25, 2017). "All-Star Athlete: Bakersfield local a top pitching prospect for Milwaukee Brewers". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  2. ^ Horn, Trevor (June 8, 2016). "Former Centennial standout Burnes a 1st round hopeful". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  3. ^ "Burnes Building Steam Heading Into Draft - BaseballAmerica.com". May 11, 2016.
  4. ^ "#16 Corbin Burnes - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  5. ^ Horn, Trevor (June 10, 2016). "Burnes taken in fourth round by Milwaukee Brewers". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  6. ^ Froberg, Tim. "Rattlers' Burnes blessed with big-time talent". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  7. ^ Isbell, Tim (May 30, 2017). "Brewers promote Shuckers' Taylor Jungmann to Triple-A". Biloxi Sun Herald. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  8. ^ Driscoll, Mark P. (July 4, 2017). "Brewers prospect Corbin Burnes on Double-A: You feel like you're one call away from MLB". Biloxi Sun Herald. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "Corbin Burnes Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  10. ^ Rosiak, Todd (September 26, 2017). "Brewers honor top minor-leaguers Lewis Brinson, Corbin Burnes". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  11. ^ Rosenbaum, Mike (February 22, 2018). "Brewers 2018 Top 30 Prospects led by Hiura". MLB.com. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  12. ^ Maun, Tyler (April 19, 2018). "Milwaukee Brewers No. 2 prospect Corbin Burnes puts it all together". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  13. ^ "Corbin Burnes gets MLB promotion to Milwaukee Brewers". The Bakersfield Californian. July 8, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  14. ^ Rosiak, Todd (July 11, 2018). "Corbin Burnes makes his major-league debut one to remember". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  15. ^ "Corbin Burnes finishes 6th in NL Cy Young vote". Brew Crew Ball. SB Nation. November 12, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
  16. ^ McCalvy, Adam (April 21, 2021). "40 K's, 0 walks by Burnes has no precedent". MLB.com. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  17. ^ "Corbin Burnes Sets Two Strikeout Records in Return From I.L." The New York Times. May 13, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  18. ^ "Burnes, Peralta anchor Brewers at ASG". MLB.com.
  19. ^ "Brewers' Burnes ties record with 10 straight K's". August 12, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  20. ^ Castrovince, Anthony (September 11, 2021). "Led by Burnes, Brewers spin combo no-hitter". MLB.com. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  21. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2021 » Pitchers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com.
  22. ^ Baer, Jack (November 17, 2021). "Brewers' Corbin Burnes wins NL Cy Young Award, 2 years after historically awful season". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  23. ^ Bastian, Jordan (November 23, 2021). "Burnes, Hader named to All-MLB First Team". MLB.com. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  24. ^ "Arbitration Tracker For 2022". MLBTradeRumors. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  25. ^ "Brewers tab Cy Young winner Burnes for opener". ESPN.com. March 29, 2022.
  26. ^ "Brewers pitchers Corbin Burnes, Josh Hader selected to All-Star game". Jsonline.com. July 10, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Corbin Burnes Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  28. ^ Lord, Alex (November 1, 2022). "Max Fried wins third consecutive Gold Glove". SportsTalkATL.com.
  29. ^ "Corbin Burnes: Arbitration hurt relationship with Brewers". ESPN. Associated Press. February 16, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  30. ^ "Brewers name Corbin Burnes starter for 2023 opening day vs Cubs". Jsonline.com. March 24, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  31. ^ Melewski, Steve (February 2, 2024). "New Oriole Corbin Burnes on trade, his new team and possible contract extension talks". MASNsports.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  32. ^ Passan, Jeff (February 1, 2024). "Orioles acquire former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes from Brewers". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  33. ^ "Corbin Burnes Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  34. ^ "MLB free agency: 8 O's into pool; Giolito opts in". ESPN.com. October 31, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  35. ^ "Player Card: Corbin Burnes".
  36. ^ Kostka, Andy (February 20, 2024). "Armed with a second curveball, new Orioles ace Corbin Burnes is drawing raves". Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  37. ^ Feinberg, Teddy (July 13, 2018). "Corbin Burnes makes most of major league opportunity". The Bakersfield Californian. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  38. ^ "OUR WEDDING". Retrieved December 10, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  39. ^ "corbinburnes". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  40. ^ Nightengale, Bob (March 6, 2022). "MLB lockout: Corbin Burnes is poster boy for baseball's labor fight". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  41. ^ Rill, Jake (July 17, 2024). "Corbin Burnes makes 2024 All-Star start after wife has twins". MLB.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.

Further reading

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Awards and achievements
Preceded by No-hitter pitcher
September 11, 2021 (with Josh Hader)
Succeeded by