Burrows gets 'W' in MLB debut in Bronx: 'That was awesome'

NEW YORK -- It was far from the first time Mike Burrows has been to Yankee Stadium. A Connecticut kid, he and his family made the trip to the home of the Yankees plenty of times, even if Burrows was a Red Sox fan growing up.

But he had never seen the jewel of the Bronx like this before.

“To be running on the field instead of watching from the seats was a completely different feeling,” Burrows said.

Burrows pitched 3 1/3 innings and got the win in his Major League debut Saturday. The team’s No. 16 prospect allowed two runs -- one earned -- on two hits and three walks while striking out a pair, including Aaron Judge, to help propel the Pirates to a 9-4 win after coming in following two perfect innings by Paul Skenes.

In reflection, that debut that he had to wait longer than expected for was 100% worth it.

“To be in Yankee Stadium, to get a win, to get a punchout, I just got a bit of everything,” Burrows said. “That was awesome."

Burrows climbed to Triple-A Indianapolis in 2022 as one of the team’s top pitching prospects, putting him on the precipice of the Majors in ‘23. A Tommy John procedure in April ‘23 delayed that debut.

"It was a battle, 16 months I had of rehab, and then another two back to get here,” Burrows said before the game. “So it was a fight, and this is all worth it now."

Burrows’ prospect ranking is a dip from where he was a year ago. But missing a year and the emergence of several other young pitchers at seemingly every level of the farm system kept the right-hander out of the public eye a bit -- but not out of the Pirates’ view.

“A lot of people talk about our pitching and the depth, and at times they forget to mention him,” said manager Derek Shelton. “We feel that he’s still a big part of this.”

Burrows first emerged as a prospect with a mid-90s fastball and a high-spin curveball a few years ago after being selected in the 11th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. In the following years, his changeup has continued to develop into a weapon -- and his first strikeout was a changeup to Oswaldo Cabrera -- and he added a slider ahead of the ‘23 season that helps the whole arsenal play up.

Burrows pitched in 16 games (15 starts) this year, including 10 games (nine starts) at Indianapolis, where he pitched to a 4.06 ERA over 37 2/3 innings with 45 strikeouts. That included a 10-strikeout outing in his final Minor League start of the season on Sunday, which is where he started to feel like his old self on the mound again. It was there that the feel of the ball coming out of his hand and the energy he pitches with really did return.

“I would say throughout the outings prior to that, it was just the inconsistency was really getting to my head,” Burrows said. “That sucks to be out there and feel like every other pitch or every third pitch is when you're finally feeling it coming out of the hand the way you want it to. It took a good amount of starts before the consistency started to be there.”

While Burrows had to find the feel again, he never lost that competitive edge, an onfield demeanor that is likely going to remind plenty of Pirates fans of rookies Jared Jones and Skenes. The same goes for Burrows’ resiliency, which was tested over the past year.

“There's not much else in this game you can go through that's going to be harder than that,” Burrows said. “Being away from the game that long and being on the shelf, not being with your teammates and being with, really, anybody and just having to battle your way mentally through that."

Burrows had plenty of family and friends coming in from his home in Connecticut to watch, and he heard them in the fifth inning in a quieter patch in the game. He will make the trip west later this month to participate in the Arizona Fall League to get more competitive innings in his first year back from his surgery.

Every player wants to finish his season on a high note, and a 10-strikeout game at Triple-A certainly qualifies. But comparing that to a Major League debut, what’s his choice?

"Debut,” he answered, smiling. “Without a doubt.”