Nathan
Burns

4/23/17 -Oregon State commit. Currently ranked No. 1 in the Wisconsin Class of 2017. 6-foot-1, 170-pound right-handed pitcher with a lanky, athletic frame. Works from a ¾ arm angle with a long, loose, whippy arm action. Drop and drive, athletic delivery working in line with home plate. Shows feel for three pitches on the mound, consistently works down in the zone. Fastball sat 88-90 mph for his five innings of work. Can throw slider for strikes and bury it for swings and misses at 77-78 mph. Maintains arm sped on changeup at 81-82 mph with late sinking action.

2017 Super 60 - Oregon State recruit. 6-foot-1, 170-pound right-handed pitcher, lanky athletic build with room for continued physical development. Burns was one of the bigger surprises at the Super 60, showing increased velocity and more strength to his frame since last look. Arm works free and easily, long, loose and quick from a 3/4 slot; overall advanced feel for three pitches, all with movement and thrown with similar arm action out of the same window. Compact, low-effort delivery, repeats well. Fastball topped at 91 mph, sitting 89-90, with late arm-side life. Changeup shows plus potential. Throws pitch with conviction - and for strikes - with sinking action and occasional cut at 80-81 mph. Also throws slider for consistent strikes at 75-76 mph, more sweeping action with late bite. Overall demonstrated high level of pitchability with intriguing upside.

5/1/16 - Oregon State commit. Currently ranked No. 2 in the Wisconsin Class of 2017 and No. 66 in the PBR Overall Ranks. 6-foot-1, 165-pound right-handed pitcher with a lanky frame and room to add more strength. Works from a ¾ arm angle with a long, loose arm action. Easy effort with a tall and fall delivery. Closed landing, occasionally falls off to first base side after release. Three pitch feel for strikes. Fastball arm speed on all pitches. Fastball sat 87-88 mph for five innings topping out at 89 mph. Commanded fastball well, broke two bats over five innings. Slider and changeup are both plus offerings. Slider has swing and miss potential with late breaking action at 76-78 mph. Showed ability to command slider on both sides of the plate. Changeup has late fading action at 81-82 mph.

2/21/16 - 6-foot-1, 165-pound right-handed pitcher with a lanky, projectable frame. Oregon State commit. Currently ranked No. 2 in the Wisconsin Class of 2017. Works form a ¾ arm angle with a long, loose, quick arm action. Tall and fall delivery with a closed landing and easy effort. Athletic finish with smooth rhythm. Three pitch feel. Fastball sat 86-88 mph. Fastball from the stretch showed sinking action at 86 mph. Slider showed wipeout potential. Sweeping with late sharp action at 75-77 mph. Changeup showed slight armside run at 77-80 mph. Took part in batting practice and ran the 60, did not participate in defensive drills. At the plate hits from a balanced setup with a long leg kick stride. Line drive hitter with a short path and fluid rhythm. Flashed a fast bat. Showed strength thru contact with 86 mph exit velocity from a tee. Ran the 60 at 7.25.

Committed to Oregon State on September 24, 2015.

7/31/15 - No pitcher helped themselves more at the Future Games than Burns. The 6-foot, 155-pound right-handed pitcher has a lanky frame and wiry build that projects well. His young body composition is not even close to reaching its peak. He’s a lean athlete whose delivery repeats well, a high pitchability guy showing command of multiple pitches. Arm action is loose working from a ¾ slot, comes out of his hand with ease and his arm speed projects for more velocity as he matures. Burns showed the best fastball velocity we’ve seen from him, sitting 85-87 mph while touching 88 mph. He calls his breaking ball a curve, from the ¾ slot it shows two-plane break, more slurve type action ranging 72-77 mph while flashing swing and miss abilities. Also showed good feel for his changeup, using it primarily to left-handed hitters at 76-78 mph with fading action.  Burns allowed one hit in his two innings of work facing the minimum. Burns walked away from the Future Games as one of the hotter names going forward and should see his stock rise immensely.

3/1/15 - Highly projectable right-handed pitcher, 6-foot, 155-pound two way player, lanky athletic build, sloped shoulders. Tall and fall delivery is easy and repeatable, good rhythm, stays slightly closed throughout, squared landing and athletic finish. Arm action is clean, works quickly with length and looseness, high ¾ slot. Fastball has command, arm side run with late life through the zone, 82-83 mph. Off-speed pitches play up, well beyond his age. Curveball has 11/5 shape, sharp action, can drop for strikes, has conviction, 72-74 mph. Excellent feel for his changeup, fastball arm speed, advanced arm side action, ability to command it, sat 77 mph. High ceiling pitcher with advanced repertoire and highly projectable frame that will get bigger and stronger. Offensively hits from an open stance, leg kick stride, lower half works well. Athletic hitter, loose hands, middle of the field approach, short path with extension, 84 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively moves well on the infield, good actions and soft hands, feet work well. Athletic arm action, throws well on the move, arm carries across the diamond, 85 mph across the infield.

2/23/20: Burns struggled with his control over his first two seasons, during which he saw limited action primarily out of the OSU bullpen. Burns has clearly taken a big step forward with his pitchability after issuing 26 walks in 35.1 career innings over his first two seasons, and he now looks like a solid strike-thrower in the weekend rotation. He came out of the bullpen in Oregon State’s season opener, but then he started and worked five strong innings of one-run ball last Monday against BYU. He looked great against an elite offense Sunday in Starkville, attacking the zone at 89-92, landing his 77-81 mph slurve for a strike, and getting swing-and-misses with his dramatically improved power changeup, which showed excellent tumble and late fade in the 83-86 range. The breaking ball did not look like an out pitch, but he was able to command it well to keep righthanded hitters off balance. He used the changeup as a swing-and-miss pitch on at least two of his six strikeouts, and he elevated his heater for swing-and-misses on other strikeouts. Slender and athletic at 6-foot-1, 187 pounds, Burns has a longer three-quarters arm action and room to more strength, and he’s already shown more velocity in the past in a relief role. He looks like a candidate to be drafted toward the back of the top 10 rounds. (Fitt)Burns struggled with his control over his first two seasons, during which he saw limited action primarily out of the OSU bullpen. Burns has clearly taken a big step forward with his pitchability after issuing 26 walks in 35.1 career innings over his first two seasons, and he now looks like a solid strike-thrower in the weekend rotation. He came out of the bullpen in Oregon State’s season opener, but then he started and worked five strong innings of one-run ball last Monday against BYU. He looked great against an elite offense Sunday in Starkville, attacking the zone at 89-92, landing his 77-81 mph slurve for a strike, and getting swing-and-misses with his dramatically improved power changeup, which showed excellent tumble and late fade in the 83-86 range. The breaking ball did not look like an out pitch, but he was able to command it well to keep righthanded hitters off balance. He used the changeup as a swing-and-miss pitch on at least two of his six strikeouts, and he elevated his heater for swing-and-misses on other strikeouts. Slender and athletic at 6-foot-1, 187 pounds, Burns has a longer three-quarters arm action and room to more strength, and he’s already shown more velocity in the past in a relief role. He looks like a candidate to be drafted toward the back of the top 10 rounds. (Fitt)

3/9/19: Six-foot-2, 180 pounds with an average sized frame and build. Stock RHP with a FB in the 90-91 range. Topped at 92. Also mixed in slurve breaking ball at 77-79. (Jurik)