Starting pitcher Sean Burke has been a bit of a wildcard for the Chicago White Sox in 2025.
Burke was a third-round pick by the Sox in the 2021 MLB Draft that had struggled in the minor leagues despite having an exciting analytics profile and pitch arsenal.
Before his debut in 2024, Burke was 7-22 with a 5.05 ERA in the minor leagues. The White Sox gave him a shot in the big leagues last season anyways. That’s when Burke, seemingly out of nowhere, became one of the more intriguing young arms in the organization.
In four appearances and 19 MLB innings after a September call-up, Burke had a 1.42 ERA and 10.4 K/9.
Come Spring Training, Burke was a popular breakout pick thanks to an eye-popping analytics profile. The White Sox clearly felt similarly after watching his stuff in camp. The coaching staff went on to name Burke the Opening Day starter.
Sean Burke's rollercoaster start to 2025
The 2025 season has been up and down for Burke ever since. He did six scoreless innings on Opening Day, but proceeded to surrender 14 earned runs over 10.2 innings in his next three starts combined.
On May 1st, Burke’s ERA was sitting at an even 6.00
In May, Burke has thrown 16.2 innings over three starts and allowed just two earned runs. That has brought his season ERA down to 4.15. But control continues to be an issue for the young right-hander.
Burke has walked 11 batters in his last three starts. Even when he is productive, he is flirting with disaster. The White Sox need to find a way to help Burke settle in. They need a more consistent product out of him, and the answer might be in the everyday lineup that manager Will Venable puts together.
Burke throws better to Edgar Quero
Since Edgar Quero was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on April 17th, he has been behind the plate for only two of Burke’s five starts. It was two consecutive starts on May 1st and May 6th and Burke was incredibly successful both times.
With Quero catching him this season, Burke has thrown 12.1 innings with a 0.73 ERA and allowed only six (6) hits.
When veteran Matt Thaiss is back there, Burke has allowed 15 earned runs in 18 innings pitched. That’s a 7.50 ERA.
It’s a relatively small sample size, but the difference in those numbers is jarring. Quero should be catching most days anyways, but if I’m Will Venable, I listen to the data and try to match up Burke and Quero every time he starts.
The manager is responsible for putting his players in a position to succeed. It’s on Venable moving forward if Burke is pitching to Thaiss and struggles on the mound.