Here’s Joel Sherman (NY Post) on A.J. Burnett:
He will be 33 in January and likely will be coming off the first time in his career that he has put consecutive 30-start seasons together. Maybe he will still hurl 95 mph heat and devastating curves for a while longer. But what happens when there is some diminishment in his stuff? This is not a pitcher who is going to make up for lost heat with savvy and he has never exhibited finesse. So once the elite stuff falls off a little what is he?
I’ve always thought that age will help Burnett. As his stuff declines, he’ll be forced out of this “throwing” mindset and will have no choice but to reconsider his pitching repertoire and overall style. He has never “exhibited finesse” because he’s never had to, really. In a few years, he’ll have to learn how to pitch intelligently. Sure, having lesser stuff isn’t a good thing—not at all—but it’s not like his talent will fade overnight. Barring injury, it’ll be a gradual process and, for that reason, I think he’ll be able to manage it and evolve accordingly.
What do you think? Will Burnett’s contract become a disaster in 2012 or 2013 because of diminished stuff? I don’t think so, but I’m sure there are varying opinions on the subject. However, most fans are probably worried about injuries rather than a loss of raw talent.
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4 Responses to Burnett's future
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TIQ IQ
Didn’t Burnett himself say he used to be a thrower and now he’s become a pitcher? He credited that as part of the reason why he doesn’t get injured anymore.
Minus the injuries, we had a pitcher like AJ, remember?!?
His name is Moose, he was a suborn fast ball, curve and change-up pitcher topping out at about 93+/-. He lost it over time and became a finesse pitcher on both sides of the plate.
I see AJ doing the same thing…”Adapt & Improvise” is easy to do for a talent such as he. Hell, he does it now…the 2nd or 3rd time around in each game.
AJ will need to develop his change or slider more but I do agree that over time he will learn some finesse. One plus from his stuff going down slightly will be a drop off in the amount of HBP and wild pitches and his overall game plan will have to be planned around his control which has already gotten a lot better with his curve ball than it ever use to be.
Let’s not compare AJ to Mussina though, as Mussina was far more cerebral (a Stanford grad no-less). But, that being said, my biggest fear with AJ was his durability. Thus far, he has exceeded my expectations. We all seem to forget the game he recently pitched against the Red Sox in Fenway (a no-decision) when talking about how he is 0-4 in his last x starts. Or how about the complete game against Oakland where he took a loss but only gave up 3 runs? Or even yesterday’s game, I think we’d take a 6 inning game of 3 runs on most days from AJ, despite how frustrating it was that those 3 runs came about. So, bottom line, I see lots of positive signs from AJ that may not be evident as we are so close to the current stretch he is in. I can only hope that if he continues to stay healthy during his stay with the Yankees and if his velocity significantly diminishes he’ll do the hard work necessary and be open to input from coaches to find a way to continue to be successful.