Mike Burrows tied a career best in single-game strikeouts with ten on Sunday afternoon.
The right-handed pitcher went five innings, allowing three runs on four hits, with the damage coming from two home runs. The damage was limited by the ten punch outs. Burrows had 21 whiffs on the day, coming from four pitches:
- The four-seam fastball had nine whiffs on 21 swings (43%), sitting 93.6 MPH, and ranging 91.5-95.2. He also threw the pitch for six called strikes, leading to a 36% called and swinging strike rate.
- The curveball had six whiffs on 14 swings (43%), with four called strikes for a 40% CSW. It averaged 80.3 MPH, ranging 75.4-85.4.
- The slider had two whiffs on six swings (33%), with one called strike for a 25% CSW. His worst performing pitch of the day sat 86.2 MPH, ranging 85.4-87.9.
- Burrows got four whiffs on seven swings from the changeup (57%), with one called strike for a 42% CSW. The changeup sat 84.3 MPH, ranging 83.0-85.6.
The 2024 season was a return from Tommy John surgery for Burrows, who pitched 37.2 innings at the Triple-A level. In that time he had a 4.06 ERA and struck out 45 batters, with 15 walks. The final start of the season didn’t have the best results, but had one of his best overall pitch performances of the year.
Burrows previously struck out ten batters in July 2021 while pitching for High-A Greensboro. He made it to Indianapolis for 42.1 innings in 2022, putting up a 5.31 ERA. After two starts in 2023, he went down with Tommy John. He’s now one of the top ten prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system, and should be in line to make the Majors in 2025 as a rotation depth option.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 9-4, led by power behind the start from Mike Burrows.
- CF Matt Gorski: 2-for-5, HR, RBI, SB
- SS Tsung-Che Cheng: 3-for-4, BB, SB
- LF Ji Hwan Bae: 2-for-4, HR, BB, 4 RBI
- 1B Seth Beer: 2-for-5, HR, 2B, RBI
- 2B Liover Peguero: 2-for-5, RBI
Indianapolis bats exploded for six runs in the top of the fifth inning on Sunday. Matt Gorski led things off with a solo home run, his 23rd of the season, tying the score at 2-2. Seth Beer followed him with a back-to-back home run, the eighth of the Triple-A season for Beer. Ji Hwan Bae broke the game open later in the inning with his seventh homer of the year, scoring three runs to put Indianapolis up 6-2. They added one more run on an RBI single by Liover Peguero. Batting first and playing shortstop, recently promoted Tsung-Che Cheng had three hits and a walk, while stealing his first base in Triple-A.
STATCAST HEROES
Hardest Hit: Matt Gorski, 109.2 MPH, Home Run (419 feet)
Beer Homer: 106.0 MPH, 386 feet
Bae Homer: 98.3 MPH, 364 feet
Cheng Singles: 94.5 MPH, 79.7 MPH, 74.9 MPH
Yean Fastball: Recently promoted right-handed relief prospect Eddy Yean pitched a scoreless inning of a relief following Burrows. He allowed one hit and struck out two. Yean threw 20 pitches, with 19 of those being his four-seam fastball. The pitch sat 95.4 MPH, ranguing from 94.1-96.3. He had five whiffs on nine swings, with three called strikes for a 42% CSW.
Bidios Debut: The Pirates just promoted right-handed reliever Brandan Bidios to Indianapolis for the final game. He pitched a scoreless inning with one hit and one strikeout. Bidios worked heavily off his four-seam fastball, which sat 94.7 MPH, ranging 93.2-96.4. He had two whiffs and three called strikes for a 36% CSW. He also threw a slider that averaged 87.8 MPH on three pitches, and a curveball that was 75.2 MPH on the only pitch thrown.
MONDAY’S SCHEDULE
- The 2024 minor league season is over.
- The Pirates Prospect Watch will return…
