Corbin Burnes

Corbin Burnes

30-Year-Old PitcherSP
Arizona Diamondbacks
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Burnes was everything the Orioles could have hoped for when they traded for him, as he took the ball 32 times during the regular season and pitched to a 2.92 ERA, seventh lowest among qualified starters. The right-hander added eight innings of one-run ball in his lone postseason start before Baltimore was bounced by Kansas City. Burnes surprised the baseball world in December when he inked a six-year, $210 million contract with the Diamondbacks. There may be some slight yellow flags, including a 23.1 K% last season, down significantly from just a couple years ago, coinciding with a drop in whiff rate on his curveball. Burnes is now on the wrong side of 30, but throwing hard, limiting walks and racking up innings make him a rare commodity given the current pitching landscape. The underlying numbers over the past couple years point to him being more of a low-to-mid 3.00s ERA pitcher, but if the strikeouts ramp back up it would help to stave off regression. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#38
ADP
$Signed a six-year, $210 million contract with the Diamondbacks in December of 2024.
Reason for rotation slot
PArizona Diamondbacks
March 24, 2025
Burnes was slotted fifth in the rotation because the right-hander wanted to remain on a five-day pitching schedule, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Eyebrows may have been raised when the Diamondbacks announced Burnes, a prized offseason addition, was going to start the fifth game of the season. That's because manager Torey Lovullo didn't decide on Zac Gallen to start Opening Day until later in camp, and Burnes wanted to maintain a five-day routine. Burnes last pitched in a Cactus League game Friday, so if the right-hander started the second game of the regular season, he would be doing so on one week's rest. Instead, Burnes will throw a simulated game on Wednesday before making his regular-season debut the following Tuesday.
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Pitching Stats
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-17%
BAA vs LHP
2025
No Stats
2024
 
 
-8%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-26%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .193 761 193 64 133 15 1 15
Since 2023vs Right .232 807 188 50 173 25 1 29
2025vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Left .216 373 81 24 75 8 0 8
2024vs Right .235 411 100 24 90 13 1 14
2023vs Left .170 388 112 40 58 7 1 7
2023vs Right .229 396 88 26 83 12 0 15
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Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-20%
ERA on Road
2025
No Stats
2024
 
 
-2%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-35%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 3.53 1.25 181.0 12 8 0 8.8 2.9 1.0
Since 2023Away 2.83 0.94 207.0 13 9 0 8.9 2.4 1.0
2025Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Home 2.94 1.28 101.0 8 5 0 8.6 2.5 0.8
2024Away 2.89 0.90 93.1 7 4 0 8.1 1.9 1.3
2023Home 4.28 1.21 80.0 4 3 0 9.0 3.5 1.4
2023Away 2.77 0.97 113.2 6 5 0 9.5 2.8 0.8
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
The right-hander's 2023 got off to an inauspicious start, with an ugly arbitration battle publicly straining the relationship between Burnes and the Brewers. Always the consummate professional, Burnes put together another highly successful campaign despite some hiccups, leading qualified National League starters in WHIP while reaching 200 strikeouts for the third consecutive season. His swing-and-miss dominance took a hit as Burnes averaged just over a strikeout per inning (25.5 K%), coinciding with a dip in fastball velocity. His sinking fastball let him down and the 10 wins were a disappointment, but Burnes has four above-average pitches to lean on and still projects as a fantasy ace after being traded to the Orioles in February. If the strikeouts tick back up, Burnes could find himself in the Cy Young discussion once again.
Burnes followed up his NL Cy Young season in impressive fashion. While he didn't bring home the hardware in the National League again, the right-hander was right up there among the best pitchers in the game no matter how you slice it. At 27 years old, Burnes fanned 243 batters -- second in baseball behind only Gerrit Cole -- and surpassed 200 innings for the first time, adding 35 frames to his 2021 total. There is little to nitpick in the underlying numbers, though Burnes hit some bumps in the road in the second half, with his ERA finishing at 3.97 after the All-Star break. A corresponding dip in his strikeout rate after the break (to 27.9 percent) perhaps gives reason for pause heading into 2023, but the overall body of work was stellar. Burnes should still be treated as one of MLB's elite aces, even if he won't get to pick on the NL Central quite as much with the balanced schedule.
Once a top prospect, Burnes reached full bloom in 2021, going 11-5 with 234 strikeouts and only seven homers allowed in 167 innings for the Brewers en route to winning the NL Cy Young Award. His 30.4 K-BB% was best among qualified pitchers -- nearly seven strikeouts for every walk he issued. The breakout can be easily traced back to 2020 when Burnes added a cut fastball and changeup to his arsenal while dialing back his straight fastball and slider. That repertoire shakeup was in response to a big step backward on the field in 2019 when Burnes allowed 17 homers in just 49 innings at the big-league level. He spent some time on the IL early on in 2021 following a positive COVID test and later dealt with a minor knee problem, but this version of Burnes we've seen the past two seasons is elite and worthy of late-first/early-second round consideration in fantasy leagues.
It wasn't clear how Burnes would be utilized in 2020 after having a rough go of it the year before, but he and the Brewers found something that clicked, and Burnes wound up finishing sixth in NL Cy Young voting after a dominant campaign. Burnes entirely revamped his pitch mix last season, adding a cut fastball and changeup to the mix and severely cutting his reliance on his fastball and slider. When it was all said and done, Burnes posted a 2.02 ERA, a mark that would have ranked fifth in the league had he recorded one more out to qualify. His K/9 rate would have also ranked an elite third among all starters. Burnes was a well-regarded prospect coming up in the Brewers' system, so he has the pedigree to match his results. He will essentially be a lock to open the season as the Brewers' No. 2 starter.
There were high hopes for Burnes heading into 2019 after the right-hander excelled in a relief role during his debut season in 2018. However, things did not go according to plan. He opened the season in Milwaukee's rotation but was sent to the minors after struggling to a 10.70 ERA and allowing 11 home runs through his first four starts (17.2 innings). Burnes spent the rest of the season bouncing between Triple-A and the big-league bullpen, missing time with a shoulder injury while struggling at both stops. Control was an issue for Burnes; he averaged 3.7 BB/9 and often caught too much of the plate when throwing strikes, as evidenced by his 12% barrel rate. Burnes finished the year with an 8.82 ERA in 49 innings, but underlying numbers suggest he was a bit unlucky (6.09 FIP, 3.38 xFIP). He registered a 21.3 K-BB%, which underscores his potential. Burnes should get another chance to start in 2020.
Burnes remains a starter long-term, but the Brewers let him get his feet wet at the major-league level as a reliever, and the move worked brilliantly, as Burnes got to complete his development and provide excellent innings during the team's playoff push. His stuff played up in relief, with Burnes posting a 15.2% swinging-strike rate and a 47.4 O-Contact%, nearly 20 percentage points lower than the league average. So when hitters swung at Burnes' pitches out of the strike zone, they very rarely even put bat to ball let alone connected for base hits. The Brewers want him to keep starting, and he will get a chance to compete for a rotation spot during spring training. If he does not earn a spot there, it's likely he will work out of the bullpen and be next on deck should a spot open up.
Burnes showed flashes of brilliance while throwing just 35.2 innings in his 2016 professional debut, but that turned out to be a sign of things to come, as he flat-out dominated minor-league hitters in 2017. He fell just short of averaging a strikeout per inning at both the High-A and Double-A levels, but was otherwise spectacular, limiting opposing hitters to just a .200 batting average while also posting a sparkling 4.20 K/BB and giving up just three home runs. He doesn't possess elite strikeout potential, but he will at least be serviceable in that area given his deep, high-quality arsenal, which includes a mid-90s fastball, a hard slider, and also a curveball and changeup. Burnes figures to get a run at the Triple-A level before he makes his big-league debut, but as long as he does not fall victim to the thin air of Colorado Springs, he stands a good chance to join the Brewers at some point in the summer of 2018.
Burnes was completely off the prospect radar his freshman year at St. Mary's, when he posted a 6.18 ERA as he bounced between the rotation and the bullpen. But over the next three years, Burnes developed into a major prospect, thanks in particular to a notable summer in the Cape Cod League following his junior season. Now he owns a fastball that sits 92-95 to go with a changeup and breaking ball, all capable of drawing whiffs. That was enough to earn Burnes a fourth-round selection from the Brewers. He looked fantastic in his first professional action, as he struck out 41 batters and allowed just eight runs over 35.2 innings between rookie ball and Low-A Wisconsin. At 21 years old, he should be able to handle batters at those levels, but his stock will be worth watching as he progresses up the ladder.
More Fantasy News
Slots in for fifth game
PArizona Diamondbacks
March 23, 2025
Burnes is scheduled to make his first start of the regular season April 1 against the Yankees, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Roughed up Friday
PArizona Diamondbacks
March 22, 2025
Burnes allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits while striking out five over 2.2 innings in Friday's spring start against the Brewers.
ANALYSIS
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Fans four in Saturday's start
PArizona Diamondbacks
March 16, 2025
Burnes allowed one run on four hits and struck out four over four-plus innings in Saturday's spring start against the White Sox.
ANALYSIS
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Up to four innings
PArizona Diamondbacks
March 10, 2025
Burnes allowed two hits and a walk while striking out five over four innings in Sunday's spring start against the Rangers.
ANALYSIS
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Works on breaking stuff
PArizona Diamondbacks
March 4, 2025
Burnes focused on his breaking pitches during Monday's start against the Cubs, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Gets trade protection
PArizona Diamondbacks
January 2, 2025
Burnes' six-year, $210 million contract with the Diamondbacks includes an opt-out after 2026 with full no-trade protection for the first two years and limited trade protection for the final four years of the deal, per Robert Murray of FanSided.com.
ANALYSIS
Lefty Max Fried set the market in total value with an eight-year, $218 million deal, while Burnes has a higher average annual value but $60 million in deferred money. The veteran right-hander has been one of the most reliable aces in baseball over the past few years and had a 2.92 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 181:48 K:BB over 194.1 frames in 32 regular-season starts with Baltimore last season. However, his strikeout rate has dropped in each of the past four years, with 2024's 23.1 percent representing a career low as an MLB starter.
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