How a new cutter and sharper command transformed this White Sox ace

How a new cutter and sharper command transformed this White Sox ace originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Pitcher Sean Burke attended the University of Maryland, where he caught the attention of the Chicago White Sox, who proceeded to draft him in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft.

He spent a few years climbing through the minors and was promoted to the big leagues on September 10, 2024, where he made four appearances. The following year, he was named the Opening Day starter. 

Burke struggled at times, like most rookies do, compiling a 4-11 record with a 4.22 ERA across 134.1 innings of work. However, he looks much better this season. 

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It's not just Burke being in his second year in the bigs that has helped him, but he has worked on his repertoire over the offseason. According to MLB.com's Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, he came into the season with a new pitch that has really helped him out. 

"Burke has given his four-seamer more protection from his sinker and a brand new cutter and worked on stabilizing his delivery. Command vastly improved and at-bats now unfolding more on his terms. Burke is averaging more than a strikeout per inning and a career-low 2.7 BB/9, and his July numbers in particular (5 GS, 1.14 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 11.25 K/BB) really capture the imagination."

By coming out with a cutter this year, he's making it even tougher for opposing batters to guess what's coming. Batters now have another harder-velocity pitch to worry about that has a good amount of movement. And with his tunneling, that pitch comes out of the same slot as his fastball. 

This pitch also makes it quite a difficult at-bat for lefties who have to worry about this cutter jamming them up inside while also worrying about his sharp slider. 

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