Corbin Burnes moving to bullpen role

[Eye Black]

From Robert Murray: Corbin Burnes is moving to the bullpen for “a little while,” Craig Counsell said. The addition of Gio Gonzalez changed the equation.

 

From Adam McCalvy: Corbin Burnes is back with the Brewers to pitch out of the 'pen. The thinking with him changed, Craig Counsell said, after the Gio Gonzalez signing.

 

Here is VIDEO of Corbin Burnes discussing the move to the bullpen following tonight’s game.

[AKCheesehead]

This makes sense to me all around at this juncture. I still believe In Burnes as a starter long term. What I really hope for is that they will continue to work with him on the side on secondary pitches and mindset/approach to make his next placement in the rotation a permanent one. I refuse to look at Corbin Burnes long term and say he’s a bullpen piece. Not yet.

[OnTheBlack]

This makes sense to me all around at this juncture. I still believe In Burnes as a starter long term. What I really hope for is that they will continue to work with him on the side on secondary pitches and mindset/approach to make his next placement in the rotation a permanent one. I refuse to look at Corbin Burnes long term and say he’s a bullpen piece. Not yet.

 

 

I really hope they don't view him as a long term reliever. I think this is because he's best suited to be a better reliever, but we need starters. Unless we're gonna spend 6/180 on Gerritt Cole this off-season(which I wouldn't be totally against to be honest) we have to develop our own ace at SOME point...don't we? Burnes has the stuff. He's shown flashes of a really nice change at times and he obviously has the fastball and breaking ball.

 

I think his fastball location has been the biggest problem. He was so good last year at hitting his spots with that high fastball. This year he has not. That's been the biggest issue he's had IMO.

[MillerParkSouth]

I understand we’re in win now mode and our bullpen is trash, but this seems very short sighted to me.

[coolhandluke121]

I don't understand what the harm would be. How much does anyone really think this could stunt his development? That seems like a fabricated concern. Yes, it could delay his readiness for the rotation for roughly the same amount of time he's in the pen, but logically it shouldn't compromise it.

 

And I don't see how you can argue that you should compromise the present by keeping him in the rotation, where he's trash, or in AAA, which contributes to the bullpen being trash. He's proven to have some ability to be a valuable reliever right now, albeit perhaps with above average volatility, and you desperately need help in the pen. It would foolish to basically punt on this year for something that's probably not a significant long-term gain anyway (again, this doesn't compromise his ability to be a good starter eventually). I mean, how important is it to invest in getting him ready for the rotation if it's not even clear that he has the stuff to be a good starter? What's wrong with a rich man's Tyler Thornburg?

 

Short-sighted* would be trading him for short-term help in the pen. This is an obvious move to me.

 

*And to be honest, you could make a strong case for trading one or two prospects to stay in contention this year, as long as you're not giving away too much surplus value. I don't normally support that kind of trade, but it doesn't take much to solidify a bullpen, where wild swings based on few players are the norm.

[JohnBriggs12]

Here's the deal. When you break in as a starter, you have to perform whether you're with a contender or a team rebuilding or they'll send you back to minors and try someone else. That's why proven starting pitchers make the big bucks. Burnes didn't have to be great out of the gate, but he needed to be better than awful. He needs to be shuffled back and wait for his next turn and when he gets it, he better be adequate because those opportunities aren't endless. If this proves anything, it's that spin rates are overrated.

[pacopete4]

If Corbin wants a starting spot, then he needs to start being reliable. So far this year he has flat out stunk. Heck, even if he was throwing up near an average stat line, he'd still be in the rotation. He can work the pen if he does his job there. If not, then send him back to AAA and start him there to figure it out. That's coming from a guy that wanted all three in our rotation. It can't just be given because they are young and promising. They have to show something that warrants their place.

[MrTPlush]

Well that makes 1/3 and the other two are still stinking up the joint in the rotation. Though really I think Woodruff has been decent. Wonder if one of the other two will end up with a similar fate.

 

Pretty sad this is how the pitching staff has done...

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Well that makes 1/3 and the other two are still stinking up the joint in the rotation. Though really I think Woodruff has been decent. Wonder if one of the other two will end up with a similar fate.

 

Pretty sad this is how the pitching staff has done...

 

Yeah, I have to think it's been pretty much the worst-case scenario they thought of when finalizing the rotation in March. Davies, the afterthought who eeked out the 5th spot, has pitched like an ace. Literally everyone else has, other than a few glimpses of hope, been pretty bad. I agree that Woodruff has looked better of late.

 

Unless Peralta gets his location under control, I doubt we'll see him in the pen. This team can't afford to have another potential powder keg out there. I'm really hoping he shows improvement today.

[Thurston Fluff]

Location has been a problem for pretty much all the pitchers not named Davies so I'm not sure a move the pen is going to solve his location problems.

[JohnBriggs12]

Location has been a problem for pretty much all the pitchers not named Davies so I'm not sure a move the pen is going to solve his location problems.

 

If he can get his fastball to tick up to 97-98 out of the pen, theoretically he can get by with more mistakes in the zone.

[FVBrewerFan]

Houser, Brown, and Nelson aren't exactly knocking on the door so Burnes will likely get another shot this year. Because it's hard to believe Woodruff, Peralta, and even Gio will just cruise along.

 

Honestly, I would put Anderson back in the rotation when he comes off the DL and send Woodruff to the pen or Peralta to AAA. (We'll see how they do in their next start or two in the meantime.)

 

Good reminder though why very few guys should be untouchable when trade talks come up. Turns out they may not all be TOR starters or aces, whatever. Also of note, CC did not mention anything about Burnes being a piggyback starter, or starting every other Tuesday, or any other version of that. No, he's a reliever for now- period.

[JackNicholson1974]

I still have a lot of hope for Woodruff figuring things out in the rotation. He has looked so close, so may times this year.

[Thurston Fluff]

Location has been a problem for pretty much all the pitchers not named Davies so I'm not sure a move the pen is going to solve his location problems.

 

If he can get his fastball to tick up to 97-98 out of the pen, theoretically he can get by with more mistakes in the zone.

 

Maybe but even Hader is getting hammered when he misses with his fastball so I think he's going to need more than just a few ticks on his fastball to turn things around. They have to figure out why the entire staff suddenly can't put the ball where they want it.

[rickh150]

This move makes sense to me.....

[Brew crew 92]

With Burnes now in the pen, I think we’re going to see the Corbin Burnes that struck out 9 Cardinal batters in the first three innings. Give him an outing or two to settle in, then watch him dominate. 96-98 with his devastating slider > this bullpen gonna get good in a hurry.

[Eye Black]

Corbin Burnes with a nice outing out of the bullpen tonight. He seemed to command the edges of the zone much better than his previous appearances. I am hopeful he can serve as an above average bullpen arm for the time being.

[NYChez]

We all thought last year’s playoff experience would immensely help Burnes, Woodruff, and Peralta.

 

Is it possible that the letdown of going from pitching late in tight games in packed houses with the World Series on the line to pitching early in empty houses in April gave them the false sense that they could light up on their focus a little bit?

 

It might be like what happens when closers enter the game in non-save situations.

 

Hopefully Burnes’ performance late in a tie game will remind him of the focus that’s always needed and get him back on track.

[JohnBriggs12]

You always have to take pitching performances with a grain of salt when games go beyond 10 or 11 innings. Hitters become tired, and change their approach trying to hit HR. Advantage goes to pitchers the longer games go.

[Jenkins5]

You always have to take pitching performances with a grain of salt when games go beyond 10 or 11 innings. Hitters become tired, and change their approach trying to hit HR. Advantage goes to pitchers the longer games go.

 

Still need to get job done & keep ball in Park. Anything good for Burnes helps rebuild confidence on mound.

 

Chacin

Anderson

Woodruff

Gio

Davies

 

I think will be rotation moving forward. Think same as Burnes, Freddy should go down & get some good outings under his belt. Burnes will get another opportunity this year & hopefully he is all figured out by then.

[brewmann04]

I think Freddy might be able to go down to triple A and working on his pitching stuff. I also agree they have to do a better job at keeping the ball in the park.But maybe Burnes can work thing out in the pen and Nelson will come back and have a positive impact.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

You always have to take pitching performances with a grain of salt when games go beyond 10 or 11 innings. Hitters become tired, and change their approach trying to hit HR. Advantage goes to pitchers the longer games go.

 

Still need to get job done & keep ball in Park. Anything good for Burnes helps rebuild confidence on mound.

 

Chacin

Anderson

Woodruff

Gio

Davies

 

I think will be rotation moving forward. Think same as Burnes, Freddy should go down & get some good outings under his belt. Burnes will get another opportunity this year & hopefully he is all figured out by then.

 

I hope that is the rotation is stick with as well once Anderson comes back. I imagine we might see Burch Smith take the ball tomorrow, depending on if he's needed tonight. I think they'll also likely have to find a spot for Nelson in a couple weeks, but I guess Anderson could theoretically go back to the pen. I agree on Freddy as well. Love his stuff, but I don't trust him at all in the pen. He needs to go to San Antonio and work on his secondary pitches.

[Brew crew 92]

I hope the crew keeps Burnes in the pen the rest of the year, he needs 1 role, and this is it, imo, for this year. If he knows this is his role he can prepare accordingly. With an xtra tick or two on the FB, and his plus slider he should flourish, and give us another dominant arm, towards, a later in the year superpen.

[Oxy]

I hope the crew keeps Burnes in the pen the rest of the year, he needs 1 role, and this is it, imo, for this year. If he knows this is his role he can prepare accordingly. With an xtra tick or two on the FB, and his plus slider he should flourish, and give us another dominant arm, towards, a later in the year superpen.

 

Meh. I think the situation is fluid. If the current starting staff pitches like it has in the last week then obviously Corbin will remain in the pen role similar to what he was in last year. If we need another starter, perhaps he will fill that role (although I'd think that Nelson will be tried a few times first).

 

We have a tremendous amount of versatility within our pitching staff, and that is a good thing.

[adambr2]

I don't think it's fluid right now and I don't see Burnes going back to the rotation in 2019.

 

It's a catch-22 for this season. If he pitches well, he's too valuable to lose from the pen. If he doesn't pitch well, he's going to San Antonio to work on things.

 

Burnes' future still may be as a starter but given how bad he was in that role so far, you just don't see contending teams go back into experimentation mode in the middle of the season if things are going well. If he was a Miami Marlin, he'd be starting.

 

I think it would take multiple starter injuries for Burnes to find his way back into the rotation before next season.