Bullpen Banter: Is Enrique Burgos Primed To Run With The Closer’s Role In 2016 & Beyond?

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

At this point we know Jake Barrett isn’t the solution for the Diamondbacks at closer. Next up appears to be Enrique Burgos, who has previously earned the “closer of the future” moniker. Is he ready to take the job and run with it? Let’s take a look.

Strikeouts have never been an issue for Burgos. The 25-year old right-hander is averaging 95.5 mph on his fastball in the Majors, helping him to nearly a strikeout per inning. He owns a Triple-A career mark of 11.0 K/9 and an 11.9% SwStr% in the Majors in 2016, so there’s no reason to think there’s going to be an issue here.

While he’s not necessarily a groundball machine, his 49.2% mark shows promise (as does a career 1.44 GO/AO in the minors). This, along with the strikeout rate, makes him highly intriguing, though there’s always been a question regarding his control.

Over his minor league career he has a 6.1 BB/9 and he has an overall mark of 4.61 in the Majors this season. While it’s possible he could get away with it, the strikeout rate isn’t elite enough and he would consistently be putting himself into trouble. The thing is, all of a sudden the number has improved dramatically with 2 BB in 8.2 IP in August. Has he really figured it out or is this just a flash in the pan?

One thing he has changed is the usage of his pitches, becoming much more dependent on his fourseasm fastball:

• April – 50.00%
• May – 41.07%
• July – 54.82%
• August – 70.75%

It’s interesting, because its a similar trend we’ve seen from teammate Robbie Ray in recent weeks. He too has suddenly reduced his walks and taken steps to develop into an elite starting pitcher, as we’ve discussed multiple times. Now it seems like Burgos may be following a similar path.

He certainly has a fastball that he can utilize in this manor, as opponents are hitting just .162 against it in the Majors this season (and all of the hits are singles). His slider, which had been hindering him, has also become more effective. In August opponents have mustered just a .111 average against the pitch to go along with a 25.00% Whiff%.

Obviously we are talking about a small sample size, but we’ve seen the results with Ray and know Burgos has the stuff to excel. It’s a simple formula, but it’s an effective one and the Diamondbacks may be hitting a home run with two developing young pitchers simultaneously.

If you are searching for saves down the stretch, grab Burgos now before it’s too late. In fact, don’t be surprise if he maintains his recent success and carries the job into 2017 and beyond.

Sources – Fangraphs, Brooks Baseball, MILB.com, Baseball Reference