Faces of Milwaukee: Corbin Burnes

As we look to the playoffs having clinched the division, today's portrait recognizes the contributions made to that success by our ace among aces in a year of fantastic Brewers pitching, Corbin Burnes. Born and raised in Bakersfield, CA, Burnes was drafted his Junior year by the Brewers in 2018. He made a few appearances during the 2018 season which were encouraging enough for him to be added to the starting rotation in 2019. He struggled as a starter, allowing 11 home runs in his first 3 starts and was moved to the bullpen where he fared no better, racking up a 9.00 ERA in 26 appearances. However, he began to show what he was capable of in 2020, going 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA in the shortened season.

In 2021, he turned the corner and became the Brewers most dominant starter. He struck out 40 batters in his first 4 games, and failed to walk a batter before striking out a total of 58 batters, setting a new MLB record. So far this season, with a 2.29 ERA over 165 innings, he also leads the league in 2 of the 3 so-called "True Outcome" statistics: Home Runs allowed per 9 innings (0.3) and Strikeouts per 9 innings (12.2). With the Brewers flirting with 100 wins this season, he is widely seen as a leading candidate for the Cy Young award. This postseason, they will count on his nasty cut fastball to shutdown the tough lineups they will inevitably face as they look for their first World Series appearance since 1982.