Brock Christopher Burke (born August 4, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Texas Rangers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.

Career

Amateur career

Burke attended Evergreen High School in

Evergreen, Colorado Evergreen is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Jefferson County, Colorado, U.S. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Everg ...

. He struck out 20 batters his senior year against Eaglecrest High School in a game at Coors Field. He committed to attend the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays selected him in the third round, with the 96th overall selection, of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. He signed for an above slot $897,500

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. He made his professional debut in 2014 for the

Gulf Coast Rays The Florida Complex League Rays are a minor league baseball team in Port Charlotte, Florida, competing as a Rookie-level team in the Florida Complex League as an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast ...

, going 0–3 with a 10.80 ERA in innings pitched. Burke spent 2015 with the

Princeton Rays The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Tam ...

where he went 4–2 with a 3.42 ERA in 11 starts, and 2016 with the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

where he pitched to a 3–3 record and a 3.39 ERA in 13 starts. Burke began the 2017 season with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

, and was promoted to the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

during the season. In 23 starts between the two teams, he went 11–6 with a 2.99 ERA. In 2018, he pitched for both Charlotte and the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

, compiling a combined 9–6 record and 3.08 ERA 25 games (22 starts). The Rays added Burke to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.

Texas Rangers

On December 21, 2018, the Texas Rangers acquired Burke from the Rays as part of a three team deal in which the Rangers also acquired

Kyle Bird Ronald Kyle Bird (born April 12, 1993) is an American professional baseball relief pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Ca ...

, Yoel Espinal,

Eli White Elijah Thomas White (born June 26, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in MLB for the Texas Rangers. Amateur career White attended Wren High School in Piedmo ...

, and $750,000 of international signing bonus pool space, the Rays acquired

Emilio Pagan Emilio may refer to: * Emilio Navaira, a Mexican-American singer often called "Emilio" * Emilio Piazza Memorial School, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State * Emilio (given name) * ''Emilio'' (film), a 2008 film by Kim Jorgensen See also * Emílio (dis ...

, Rollie Lacy, and a competitive balance pick in the 2019 MLB draft (

Seth Johnson Seth Art Maurice Johnson (born 12 March 1979) is an English retired footballer. He spent his career at Crewe Alexandra, Derby County and Leeds United, and played one international for England in 2000. Club career Johnson attended Westcliff P ...

), and the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

acquired

Jurickson Profar Jurickson Barthelomeus Profar (born February 20, 1993) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball infielder and outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padr ...

. In 2019, Burke was optioned to the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

to open the season. Burke was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

on April 23 due to shoulder fatigue and blister issues. He made one start each for the

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

and the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

, before returning to Frisco on June 26. With Frisco, he went 3–5 with a 3.18 ERA in 45 innings. On August 6, Burke was promoted to the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. He made two starts for Nashville, allowing 7 runs over 8 innings. On August 20, 2019, the Rangers promoted Burke to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that night versus the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, recording four strikeouts over six scoreless innings. With Texas in 2019, Burke went 0–2 with a 7.43 ERA over innings. Burke missed the entire 2020 season, after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder in February 2020. Burke spent 2021 season with the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the

Triple-A West The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

, going 1–5 with a 5.68 ERA and 97 strikeouts over innings. Burke made the Rangers 2022

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. Burke's 2022 season was a breakout in performance and health. He posted a 7–5 record with a 1.97 ERA and 90 strikeouts over innings. He was named the Texas Rangers Rookie of the Year by the DFW area BBWAA.

Personal life

Burke has suffered from

somnambulism Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...

(sleepwalking) his entire life. On multiple occasions while in the minor leagues, Burke was witnessed by different roommates waking up suddenly during the night and acting out in various ways.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Brock 1996 births Living people People from Evergreen, Colorado Baseball players from Chicago Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Gulf Coast Rays players Princeton Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Montgomery Biscuits players Arizona League Rangers players Hickory Crawdads players Frisco RoughRiders players Nashville Sounds players Round Rock Express players