Corbin Burnes

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.