Last week we spotlighted the Mets’ Jordany Valdespin as our fantasy baseball sleeper. Since then, Valdespin has hit two homers and driven in eight over 17 at-bats. Call it the SJN bump. This week, the bump goes to Hiram Burgos, starting pitcher for the Brewers.
Burgos didn’t make the team out of spring training. He isn’t a top 100 prospect. When he was called up to replace the struggling Mike Fiers in mid-April it was without any of the fanfare guys like Tony Cingrani or Jose Fernandez get. That’s fair, he’s not nearly as exciting as Cingrani but that also gives him almost universal fantasy availability.
In his first three Major League starts, the 25-year-old Puerto Rico native has allowed six runs and 13 hits in 18 IP while striking out 10 and walking three. The only area for concern in his early season has been the three home runs he has allowed to Pedro Alvarez, Mike McKenry, and Carl Crawford. With a career 0.7 HR/9 rate in the minors, that has not been the norm for him.
His minor league numbers are promising. A 3.58 career ERA and 1.25 WHIP aren’t great but they don’t reflect the progress that he’s made. In 2012, Burgos combined to go 10-4 with a 1.95 ERA, 1.035 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, and a 2.6 K/BB while rocketing from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A. This season he had given up five runs in 16.2 IP while striking out 15 before being called up.
His spring was solid as well. In 10.1 spring training innings, Burgos allowed four runs, eight hits, two walks, and struck out six. He spent much of his spring representing Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic where he tossed 8.1 scoreless innings while giving up 10 baserunners and striking out seven.
Burgos doesn’t have the hype surrounding him like Cingrani. At 5’11 and 210 lb., he doesn’t have the same physical attributes that make the scouts get all excited about guys like Cingrani. Instead, he has put together some nice minor league seasons and grown as a starter, ultimately winning the Brewers’ minor league pitcher of the year award last season.
Strictly this season, Burgos is capable of putting up an ERA in the low-to-mid-threes if he can keep the ball in the park as he has most of his career. He doesn’t give up many hits either, putting up a 6.7 H/9 in 2012 and 5.9 to start the minor league season this year. That won’t translate to equally impressive numbers in the Majors but they are promising. He looks very solid in the strikeout department, owning a career 7.7 K/9 in the minors and an 8.1 in 2012. More importantly, he’s a pitcher who (usually) keeps the ball in the park and keeps the walks to a minimum (2.5 BB/9 in his minors career) which makes him a worthwhile pickup for all the big four starter fantasy categories.
