It wasn't until about 5:40 p.m. Tuesday that Mike Burrows got the call that he had his contract selected, and he was officially part of the Pirates' 40 man roster. For a frame of reference, the deadline to file with the league was in about 20 minutes after that call.
He had his phone volume up all day and was periodically checking it while working out, waiting for the call. Not that he was worried that he was going to be left off the roster.
After all, he had checked one of the last boxes the organization hadn't really seen from him yet in his development: He "fell on his face" a bit, as Burrows put it. His jump to Class AAA Indianapolis did not go smoothly at first, but he rebounded and put together some strong starts to show he can get hitters out at that level.
"I think it was great for me. In the moment, you’re mad, you’re pissed off, but the next day, the sun comes up," Burrows told me over the phone Wednesday. "The sun comes up every day no matter what. You really get to reflect on it that next day. That first day hurts, but that next day and that preparation leading up to that next start just makes you a little bit hungrier. Like, ‘I’ve got to get back on track. Let’s get a good one in. How are we going to do that?’ ”
Burrows' stats for Indianapolis are not exactly flattering, allowing 25 earned runs over his 42 1/3 innings there (5.31), but that doesn't tell the whole story. First, he tore up Class AA Altoona, which is why he was promoted midseason. Those AAA numbers also includes a rough final outing at the end of September, where he failed to get out of the first inning, but he only made that start so he could get one last batch of competitive at-bats in and not finish the year on the injured list. His "thrower's shoulder" injury occasionally limited his availability, so he had to wear a couple outings when he first made the leap.
Not that a hiccup at AAA hurt his stock all that much. Burrows cracked the back end of Baseball America's top 100 prospect list at the end of the season, and there's a good chance he'll be on other publications' lists ahead of 2023. Featuring a high spin curve, mid-90s fastball and a changeup that has turned into a plus pitch for him, he's established himself as one of the best pitching prospects in the Pirates' system.
Those early rough starts ended up being a bit of a blessing in disguise because it helped him game plan better. In the past, he would rely more on athleticism and stuff first over scouting. That worked in the lower levels of the minors, or just knowing the organizational philosophies of some clubs. The Tigers, for example, hunt first pitch fastballs, so he worked off of that for his starts. That wasn't good enough at the highest level of the minors.
"The guys that I knew could hurt me, I was definitely going to read into that and see where I should be throwing my pitches to them," Burrows said. "But for the rest of the lineup, it was like, ‘alright, let’s do my thing.’ I was working on things that I wanted to work on rather than really gameplanning those guys and how do I get them out. Really just trying to work on certain things myself, which is fine. It was AA. I feel like that should be part of it too. But AAA, there’s no time for it. It’s like, ‘ok, let’s execute. We’ve got to gameplan for every guy. Make sure we have something for every guy.’ ”
In addition to going over the data and figuring out how to approach each batter, he began watching videos of pitchers who had similar stuff to his and see how they would attack certain hitters. It's a process he thinks will become easier once he gets the call to the majors.
"That’s where all the [player] comps are, right?," he said. "I can watch Dylan Cease and watch him throw ride with his curveball and his changeup and be like, ‘ok, what did he do to this guy?’ I think it’s a little easier up there.”
The right shoulder is feeling better now, and he built up his innings 20% in 2022, which was the original plan. Had it not been for the injury, though, there was a case to be made that he could have been in line for a September promotion. Instead, the club went with Luis Ortiz for those extra September starts.
“I don’t want to play ‘what if?’ " Burrows said. "It definitely could have happened if I had strung together some good starts in September. You never know. The roster’s expanded. Definitely a possibility, but it’s in the rear-view now. I’m just looking forward to next year.”
Instead, Burrows is part of a group of prospects that should all make their major-league debuts in 2023. That includes the other three players the Pirates added to the roster Tuesday -- catcher Endy Rodriguez, third baseman/utiliyman Jared Triolo and right-handed reliever Colin Selby -- as well as a good chunk of their top 100 prospects, such as Quinn Priester, Henry Davis, Liover Peguero (who did get a brief callup for a weekend because of a COVID-19 scare on the major-league roster) and Nick Gonzales. It's a group of young players that should have fans excited and is one that the front office and coaching have been grooming for years.
The group has had plenty of time to talk about this potential wave of prospects to the majors over the years, starting in Class High-A Greensboro last season and going to Altoona and Indianapolis this year.
“We know that all of us are going to get our opportunities at one point or another if we just stay the path, stay the course that we’re on," Burrows said. "I don’t want to have the mindset that I’m going to walk into the league and dominate right away because it’s another level. There’s going to be an adjustment period. If you do have early success, there’s going to be an adjustment period at some point. Those guys will figure you out. My biggest goal that I’ve had for a couple years now is to figure out how do I stay there. How do I have long-term success and be there for a long time? I don’t want just a couple of opportunities, a cup of coffee. I want to be there for a long time, and so do those guys.”
There's also been plenty of conversations about that group about how they are not coming up to lose.
“Nobody remembers guys who lose," Burrows said. "You go down [in history] when you’re out of this game as having the best statistics ever and you’re a Hall of Famer, or if you’re a winner. Those are the two things that people remember. If you won, or you’re really that good and you’re in the Hall of Fame. Examples like David Freese. I know David Freese because he had one of the most historical home runs in World Series history. There’s just things about those moments, being in those big moments and coming up clutch.
"Those are the things that we want to see happen. We want to put ourselves in that position in Pittsburgh, but also realize we haven’t gotten there yet. We have to let ourselves be a little humbled by this game, and if the humility comes, good, because we have to learn to get through that. Move on to the next day and keep winning. That’s the goal. We want to be consistent, hard-working, have a good ground under us and not be air-heads about it. I don’t think any one of us wants to go up there and be arrogant to say we’re going up there and make an impact ourselves. We have to do things together and win together.”
While 2023 should be the year many of these prospects make their debuts, there is now a timetable for when it could happen. Burrows' goal going into every spring is to try to break one level higher than expected. He knows the Pirates do not have to promote him for opening day, and that him being included on the roster means he is always just a phone call away.
He's still going to give it his best shot in Bradenton this spring.
“The goal is to make the decision as hard as possible for them.”
