Thomas
Burns

Burns turned in another stellar performance for Hitters on Saturday night, punching out 11 batters in a complete game effort against a quality opponent. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Sun Devils’ recruit came out hot, sitting 90-91 mph early with his fastball before settling in at 86-88 mph. Burns showed a more firm mid-to-high-70s slider with two-plane break and landed a bendy curveball for strikes in the low-70s throughout his outing. One of the top arms in Wisconsin, Burns appears to just be scratching the surface of what his ultimate upside on the mound could be.

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-4, 195-pounds, long levered.
Delivery: Drop and drive delivery. Stays in line.
Arm Action: RH. Over the top slot.
FB: T89.9, 87.8-89.2 mph. Straight with low spin, below average lateral life. T2190, 1894 average rpm.
CB: 73.5-73.9 mph. Tendency to back up. Flashed 11/5 action, solid depth at times. T1924, 1751 average rpm.
SL: 75-76 mph. Tightly spun. Thrown at arm speed. Lateral action. T1715, 1715 average rpm.
CH: 73-74 mph. Slows arm down slightly. Flashed depth. Developing feel. T1467, 1467 average rpm.

Standing at 6-foot-4, 195-pounds, Burns possesses long levers and an upside hack in his hips. Working a simple, and directional move down the mound, Burns delivers from a high slot with a large shoulder tilt. His fastball reached a peak of 91 mph on his hardest bullet, sitting at 89-90 mph on the day with control and smaller vertical misses. He owns the kind of fastball that misses a lot of barrels and looks to have a usable mid-90s upside with 20 inches of vertical break already in play. His curveball has made large improvements year over year, at 17 inches of vertical break, and 13.5 inches of sweep, all while working off the same plane as his fastball. The changeup picks up an effective 12 inches of horizontal break, and comes in considerably faster than the curveball. Burns is a legit arm with plenty of upside as a fan favorite of local amateur evaluators.   

Positional Profile: RHP/OF
Body: 6-3, 180-pounds.
Delivery: Simple actions, up-down hand action, high leg lift, clean direction down the mound.
Arm Action: RH. Long loop, hides the ball well, vertical slot with power. Upside.
FB: T90.9, 88.3-90.4 mph. Plays with backspin, mostly straight, showed carry through the zone. T2109, 2065 average rpm.
CB: 72.8-74.8 mph. Plays close to 12/6 shape, improved action. T2085, 2048 average rpm.
SL: 72.9-76.3 mph. Also shows depth similar to curveball, ocasional more lateral action. T2253, 2176 average rpm.
CH: 80.7-83.2 mph. Kills spin with fastball arm action, fade and sink to arm side with 2:00 spin tilt. T1222, 1182 average rpm.

Burns possesses one of the highest ceilings on the mound in the entire Midwest. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound former PBR Future Games participant got the nod for Hitters 2023 squad on Saturday morning at our PBR at The Rock Fall Championships, when it was roughly 45 degrees outside, and continued to showcase an impressive, high upside arsenal. Burns ripped off a 91 mph fastball in the first inning, sitting anywhere from 86-90 mph with his heater as his outing went on. He showed an improved feel to spin his breaking ball for strikes as well, landing it in the zone to get ahead in counts and even when he was behind a handful of times, too. Burns appears to just be scratching the surface of what he could be, especially as he continues to fill out his frame and physically mature.

During the first day of our PBR at The Rock 16u Championships, Burns struck out 11 over six innings pitched, leading CBT to a 6-2 win over Elite Baseball Training. Burns is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound right-hander who sat 83-87, touching 88 mph with a curveball that flashed depth at 69-72 mph. Burns also helped his own cause going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI

One of the top-ranked uncommitted arms in the state, Burns boasts a projectable, high-waisted 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame that projects to fill out as he continues to physically mature. He attacked hitters with an 83-85 mph fastball that bumped up into the 86 mph range a handful of times, playing with natural arm-side action and occasional vertical carry. Burns also flipped in several low-70s breaking balls that occasionally showed tight-spinning action off an 11/5 plane and feel to land it for strikes. He finished with seven strikeouts and just one earned run across four innings of work. 

Positional Profile: RHP/OF. Represented Team Wisconsin at the 2021 Future Games.
Body: 6-foot-3, 180-pounds. Lanky, thin-levered frame with plenty of future projection attached.
Delivery: Smooth, tempoed tall/fall type delivery with fluid movement patterns downhill. Front side stays closed, open-toed landing, athletic finish through release.
Arm Action: RH. Long and loose arm action, high 3/4 slot.
FB: T89, 86-89 mph. Four-seam fastball, mostly straight with some finish through the zone. T2082, 2004 average rpm.
CB: 72-73 mph. 12/6 shape, used more to expand the zone low. T2101, 2040 average rpm.
CUT: 72-74 mph. 10/4 shape, landed for strikes more consistently. 

Positional Profile: RHP/OF
Body: 6-4, 210-pounds. Long, lanky frame that can add more strength/muscle.
Delivery: Quick motion, easy effort. Tall/fall pitcher. Level shoulders. Athletic finish.
Arm Action: R/R. Over the top angle. Long am action with whippy finish. Average arm speed.
FB: T83, 80-82 mph. 4: Heavy action with steep angle.
2: Flashed slight movement. T2152, 1986 average rpm.
CB:  mph. 10/4 shape with soft gradual break.  T2116, 2062 average rpm.
CH: 73-74 mph. Thrown at near FB arm speed. Straight action with some late fade. T1783, 1629 average rpm. 

6-foot-1, 165-pound right-handed pitcher. Lanky, long-levered frame, high-waisted, projects. Started on the mound against STiKS Black 15U on Friday afternoon. Short arm action, over-the-top slot. Low effort tall/fall type delivery, athletic leg kick, strong front side, works directly in line with target. Fastball worked around 79-81 mph, touching 82 mph, came out clean, flashed arm-side run. Relied on it heavily throughout this specific outing. Occasionally flipped in a breaking ball that sat between 66-67 mph, 11/5 shape, gradual action. Threw 3.1 innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out seven. Becoming a name-to-know in Wisconsin’s 2023 class. 

6-foot-1, 165 pounds; tall/lanky right-handed pitcher with long levers. Delivers the ball to home with a little funk, and the steep angle out of the hand generated a little tilt, at 78-82 mph, touching a couple 83s early in his start Friday; he also launched a homer in the team’s second game of the tournament.

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-foot-1, 165-pounds. Upside frame; lanky, long levers.
Delivery: Side rocker step into tall, toe lifted balance point, shoulders stay level, lands heel to toe and finishes athletically.
Arm Action: RH. Arm action is long, works out of high 3/4 slot, clean arm path.
FB: T84, 80-82 mph. Plays with run to arm side, showed feel for strike zone.
SL: 68-71 mph. 10/4 shape, flat sweeping action, moved laterally across the zone.
CH: 62-68 mph. Sinking action, slight fade to arm side.

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-foot-1, 165-pounds. Large frame.
Delivery: Modified windup, presets post leg, subtle rocker step in to leg lift, lands heel to toe.
Arm Action: RH. Full arm swing, high 3/4 slot.
FB: T78, 74-77 mph. Occasional slight run to arm side.
CH: 65-69 mph. Plays with sinking action, above average feel for age.
CUT: 66-69 mph. Slight cutting action toward glove side, thrown for strikes.