Detroit Tigers Select RHP Beau Burrows in First Round of MLB Draft
By Matt Snyder
With the 22nd pick of the 2015 MLB Draft, the Detroit Tigers selected right-handed pitcher Beau Burrows out of Weatherford High School in Texas.
The last time the Detroit Tigers took a high school pitcher in the first round was 2009 when they took Jacob Turner. Turner was ultimately traded to the Marlins in a deadline deal for Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante.
MLB.com says Burrows is one of the hardest throwing high school arms in the draft class.
"Outside of Justin Hooper, Burrows threw consistently harder than any other pitcher on the high school showcase circuit during the summer. He came out averaging 94 mph and peaking at 96 mph at the Perfect Game National in June and was still firing 94-95 mph bullets at the World Wood Bat Association World Championship four months later. He has shown the same velocity this spring. Burrows lacks prototypical size at 6-foot-1, but he generates his velocity with a quick arm and works down in the strike zone thanks to his high three-quarters arm slot. His delivery also helps him stay on top of his power curveball, which can be a plus pitch. His changeup has its moments as well. Though Burrows doesn’t have much physical projection remaining, he already has enough stuff and just needs more consistency. He’s committed to Texas A&M, as has Ashe Russell, one of the other top right-handers in the 2015 high school class."
Here’s a Youtube video of Burrows’ video from FanGraphs:
Here’s what prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel had to say about Burrows.
"Burrows burst onto the scene hitting the mid-90’s before his junior year in high school but there’s some funk/effort to his delivery… He’s progressed this spring, showing more command and has been sitting in the mid-90’s late into starts."
As a high school pitcher with limited experience against advanced hitters, Burrows will need several years in the minor leagues to develop. If everything goes well and the Tigers are aggressive with his assignments he could debut in 2020, but it would be unreasonable to expect him to contribute to the major league roster any sooner than that.
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