Brewers Video
Corbin Burnes' ERA sits at 1.95 after his seven shutout innings against the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday. The reigning NL Cy Young struck out 11 Cardinals while allowing just one walk and a pair of hits in Milwaukee's 8-0 win. People expect him to be exceptional every time out; one starts to wonder if he is underappreciated at this point.
In case you find yourself sleeping on the stud right-hander, Burnes can be found atop the NL leaderboard in several categories.
- ERA+ (210)
- WHIP (0.820)
- Strikeout percentage (31.8%)
- Hits per nine innings (5.8)
- Strikeouts (78)
A 100 ERA+ is league average, so Burnes is 210% better in that statistic. Again, there are four months left to play, but if Burnes stays in the neighborhood of these stats, he might be setting franchise records. The combination of strikeouts and limited runners makes Burnes a nightmare to face. He has such a look and feel of dominance that fans negatively react when he gives up even one run. The fact is, Burnes remains among the elite in MLB when many argued he couldn't keep this up.
As you can see, when a pitcher has lots of red in these Statcast percentile rankings, he is a beast. While some of these figures are "expected" results or a sign of potential success, Burnes has produced the desired output. Like with Josh Hader, it's essential to review each hurler's stats to appreciate what they're doing. That should include non-traditional performance markers that can indicate a pitcher's stuff.
One of those metrics is Contact%, which is the percentage of times a hitter makes contact when swinging at a hurler's pitch. Burnes' 63.8 Contact% is nearly eight percent better than the next best qualified NL pitcher. Getting so many whiffs is indicative of terrific movement and location. His 47.8% O-Contact% (contact on pitches outside of the strike zone) is the only mark below 50% in the NL as Burnes teases hitters with borderline tosses that dart, dive, and zip past their lumber out of the zone.
Once again, it's Burnes' ridiculous cutter leading the way. According to FanGraphs' pitch value metric, Burnes' cutter is the most valuable pitch in MLB. The stat measure the total runs saved by a pitcher using that pitch. The Burnes' cutter has a 10.3 value through his 10 games. While his cutter is the most valuable pitch of any type, it might be even more interesting that Burnes' curveball has saved the most runs based on that pitch. Considering their effectiveness, it's no surprise Burnes is using both pitches more than he ever has before.
His six-pitch potential means it's difficult for Burnes to have a truly bad day. Hitters, however, have many rough nights. Though Burnes throws the cutter a ton, he can mix in a top-flight changeup or slider to throw a team off. A quality sign of hitters' consistent struggles is evident in the slash line against Burnes:
- .183 batting average (1st in NL)
- .233 OBP (1st in NL)
- .310 slugging percentage (5th in NL)
- .543 OPS (1st in NL)
It's an incredible feeling to have a true ace to count on every five or six days. Burnes has shown no signs of slowing, and hopefully, Brewers fans can soak it all in. There will always be the question of whether or not Milwaukee can sign him long-term. All the more reason to appreciate the incredible talent you get to watch right now.
Think you could write a story like this? Brewer Fanatic wants you to develop your voice, find an audience, and we'll pay you to do it. Just fill out this form.
MORE FROM BREWER FANATIC
— Latest Brewers coverage from our writers
— Recent Brewers discussion in our forums
— Follow Brewer Fanatic via Twitter, Facebook or email
-
2
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.