Corbin Burnes

Corbin Brian Burnes (born October 22, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers selected Burnes in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2018. Burnes is a four-time All-Star. He won the National League Cy Young Award in 2021, when he led the National League (NL) in earned run average. He led the NL in strikeouts in 2022.

Amateur career
Burnes attended Centennial High School in Bakersfield, California. In 2013, his senior year, he had a 9–4 win–loss record with a 2.23 earned run average (ERA) in 22 appearances. After high school, he enrolled and played college baseball at Saint Mary's College of California. In 2015, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In 2016, his junior year, he posted a 9–2 record with a 2.48 ERA in 16 starts. After the season, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.

Minor leagues
Burnes made his professional debut with the Arizona League Brewers and was later promoted to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. In $35 2/3$ innings pitched between Arizona and Wisconsin, Burnes posted a 3–0 record with a 2.02 ERA. He started the 2017 season with the Carolina Mudcats and was later promoted to the Biloxi Shuckers after recording a 1.05 ERA after ten starts. Burnes finished 2017 with a combined 8–3 record and 1.67 ERA between both teams. The Brewers named him their minor league pitcher of the year after the season.

MLB.com ranked Burnes as Milwaukee's second-best prospect going into the 2018 season. He began the season with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

2018–2020
The Brewers promoted Burnes to the majors for the first time on July 8, 2018. He made his major league debut on July 10, pitching two scoreless innings, striking out one, and recording his first major league save. In the 2018 NLDS against the Colorado Rockies, he pitched four scoreless innings in relief across two appearances, earning the win in the clinching 6–0 Game 3 victory. In the 2018 NLCS, Burnes got the last six outs of their game six win against the Dodgers.

To start 2019, Burnes began the year in the starting rotation. However, he struggled in that role, allowing 11 home runs across his first 3 starts. It was announced he would move back to the bullpen. He continued to struggle in the bullpen, compiling a 9.00 ERA through 26 appearances. He was placed on the injured list on July 15 with shoulder discomfort. He finished the season with a 1–5 record and an 8.82 ERA in 49 innings.

In the shortened 2020 season, Burnes pitched to a 4–1 record and recorded an ERA of 2.11 while striking out 88 batters in $59 2/3$ innings. He finished 6th in the NL Cy Young voting.

2021
Burnes struck out 40 batters without issuing a walk in his first four starts of 2021, an unprecedented four game stretch for an MLB starting pitcher. On May 13, Burnes set the MLB record for the most strikeouts to begin a season before issuing a walk, with 58, surpassing the previous record held by Kenley Jansen. Burnes was named to the 2021 MLB All-Star Game. On August 12, Burnes tied an MLB record after striking out 10 consecutive batters in a game against the Chicago Cubs.

On September 11, Burnes pitched the first eight innings of a combined no-hitter with Josh Hader against the Cleveland Indians, in which he struck out 14 batters. He held a perfect game until a seventh-inning walk to Myles Straw. Burnes finished the 2021 season with an 11–5 record and led the major leagues in ERA (2.43), strikeouts per nine innings (12.6), home runs per nine innings (0.4), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.88). He won the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the third Brewers pitcher to win the award. He was also named to the first 2021 All-MLB Team as a starting pitcher.

Burnes was selected as the starter for Game 1 of the 2021 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. Burnes pitched six shutout innings, striking out six. He was not credited with the win, however, as he battled in a tight pitchers' duel with Atlanta's Charlie Morton. Milwaukee won the game, 2–1.

2022
On March 22, 2022, Burnes signed a $6.5 million contract with the Brewers, avoiding salary arbitration. The Brewers named Burnes their Opening Day starting pitcher. He was named to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game.

In 2022, Burnes was 12–8 with a 2.94 ERA in 202 innings, and struck out a league-high 243 batters. On defense, he had a .961 fielding percentage. He was a finalist for the NL Gold Glove Award at pitcher, but it was won for the third straight season by Max Fried.

2023
Burnes went to salary arbitration with the Brewers, with the arbiter choosing the $10.01 million salary requested by the Brewers, rather than the $10.75 million requested by Burnes. He said that the process "definitely hurt" his relationship with the franchise. Burnes started for the Brewers on Opening Day. In 32 starts for Milwaukee, he posted a 10–8 record and 3.39 ERA with 200 strikeouts, and was named an All–Star for the third straight season.

Baltimore Orioles
On February 1, 2024, the Brewers traded Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for DL Hall, Joey Ortiz, and a compensatory draft pick.

Pitching style
Burnes is a power pitcher who has thrown six different pitches: a four-seam fastball between 94 and 97 MPH, a sinker between 95 and 97 MPH, a changeup between 88 and 91 MPH, a slider between 86 and 89 MPH, a curveball between 80 and 83 MPH, and a cut fastball between 93 and 96 MPH. He virtually abandoned his four-seamer after 2020 after finding far more success exclusively using his cutter. In 2024, Burnes will debut a second curveball, about 5 MPH faster than his first, in strikeout situations.

Personal life
Burnes is the son of Rick and Kandi Burnes. Burnes and his wife Brooke were married in 2020. Their first child, a son, was born in 2022.