Corbin Brian Burnes (born October 22, 1994) 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

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

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 was drafted by the Brewers in the fourth round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, and made his MLB debut in 2018. He won the National League

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

in 2021.

Amateur career

Burnes attended Centennial High School in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

. In 2013, his senior year, he had a 9–4

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with a 2.23

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 22 appearances. After high school, he enrolled and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic Church, Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college of ...

. In 2015, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. 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

in the fourth round of the

Professional career

Burnes made his professional debut with the

Arizona League Brewers The Arizona Complex League Brewers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Arizona Complex League (ACL) and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The are located in Phoenix, Arizona, and play their home games at American Family Fi ...

and was later promoted to the

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton in the Fox ...

. In 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 The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...

and was later promoted to the

Biloxi Shuckers The Biloxi Shuckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Biloxi, Mississippi, and are named in reference to the city's oyster industry and seafood heri ...

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.

2018

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

ranked Burnes as Milwaukee's second-best prospect going into the 2018 season. He began the season with the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

. Burnes was called up to the majors for the first time on July 8, 2018, and made his major league debut on July 10, 2018, pitching two scoreless innings, striking out one, and recording his first major league save. In the NLDS against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

, he pitched four scoreless innings in relief across two appearances, earning the win in the clinching 6–0 Game 3 victory. He got the last six outs of NLCS game six win against the Dodgers.

2019

To start 2019, it was announced that Burnes would begin 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.

2020

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 innings. He finished 6th in the NL Cy Young voting that year.

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 Kenley Geronimo Jansen (born September 30, 1987) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves. Signed by the ...

. On August 12, Burnes tied an MLB record after striking out 10 consecutive batters in a game against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. On September 11, Burnes pitched the first eight innings of a combined

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

with

Josh Hader Joshua Ronald Hader (born April 7, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers. Hader is a four-time All-Star and three-t ...

against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, in which he struck out 14 batters. He held a perfect game until a seventh-inning walk to

Myles Straw Myles James Noble Straw (born October 17, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball d ...

. 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

, becoming the third Brewers pitcher to win the award. He was also named to the first 2021

All-MLB Team The All-MLB Team is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) honor given to the best players across both leagues at each position during the season. Selections to the first and second teams are determined by a fan vote and a panel consisting of media ...

as a starting pitcher. Making his 2021 postseason debut, Burnes was selected as the starter for Game 1 of the

NLDS In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. Burnes pitched 6

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

innings, striking out 6 in the process. He was not credited with the win, however, as he battled in a tight pitchers' duel with Atlanta's Charlie Morton. Milwaukee would, however, win the game 2–1.

2022

On March 22, 2022, Burnes signed a $6.5 million contract with the Brewers, avoiding salary arbitration. In 2022 he 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 The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

at pitcher, but it was won for the third straight season by

Max Fried Max Dorian Fried ( ; born January 18, 1994), nicknamed "Maximus", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Drafted in 2012 by the San Diego Padres in the first round, seventh overall, F ...

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.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnes, Corbin 1994 births Living people Baseball players from Bakersfield, California Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players National League All-Stars National League ERA champions National League strikeout champions Saint Mary's Gaels baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Arizona League Brewers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Carolina Mudcats players Biloxi Shuckers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players San Antonio Missions players Cy Young Award winners