CHICAGO -- The rest of this season for the White Sox is all about developing their young players. The team has certainly seen noticeable growth from several younger players over the past few weeks.
One player who has displayed some growth throughout the season is Sean Burke. Despite lasting just 3 1/3 innings in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Guardians at Rate Field, there are some positives to take away from an outing like this.
“It was kind of a strange outing where I thought his stuff was okay,” manager Will Venable said. “There were the three walks, and it just seemed like there were a lot of pitches, and [he] kind of labored through that, and [it] just got to the point where we had to turn the page.”
It was a shorter-than-usual outing for Burke on Saturday, as he pitched into many deep counts. His pitch total climbed to 26 pitches after the first inning and 70 pitches after the third inning. However, the right-hander dialed it in when he needed to.
After allowing a run and allowing three of the first five Guardians hitters to tally hits in the first, Burke got out of that jam without allowing any more damage by striking out Gabriel Arias on a four-seam fastball.
A similar situation played out in the third when Burke got himself into another jam. The Guardians had the bases loaded and two outs with Arias stepping up to the plate again. The result: another strikeout on a four-seam fastball.
“I felt good with everything,” Burke said. “A couple of hits I’ll live with in the first inning, and then from there, just kind of too many pitches. They did a pretty good job of fouling off some stuff, and just got into a lot of deep counts. I didn’t execute some pitches I needed to. I just have to be able to go deeper into games going forward.”
Burke was not overly impressed with his outing after failing to complete five innings for the third time in his past four games since the All-Star break. But the swing-and-miss stuff continues to be present for the 25-year-old.
Seven of the 10 outs that Burke recorded on Saturday came via the strikeout, which included striking out the side in the second. He punched out C.J. Kayfus on a 97 mph heater, got Brayan Rocchio to swing at a curveball and went back to his fastball to strike out Nolan Jones to end the frame.
“I thought the fastball and curveball both felt good,” Burke said. “I didn't throw [any] changeups. My slider felt good, too. The stuff from that aspect felt fine. Direction, everything felt good. They did a pretty good job of fouling off pitches. So, I have to go back and kind of look and see where I could have gone to some different pitches or some different locations.”
Even though he didn’t have his best stuff, this marked his third straight game in which he struck out at least seven batters. His 22 punchouts during this span are his most in a three-game stretch of his career.
“He's been challenged in certain games and certain stretches,” Venable said. “We've seen some first-inning struggles. We’ve seen him make adjustments and iron that out. For him, it's just about being consistent with the fastball and being consistent in the zone.”
The White Sox know that the last 45 games of the season are all about helping the younger players grow. That’s the biggest thing on the team’s mind right now. Chicago would love nothing more than to see Burke grow into his own and emerge as a top-of-the-line rotation arm for them in 2026.
He has certainly shown signs of that in recent months, as he has a 3.53 ERA and 53 strikeouts across his last nine games dating back to June 19. The White Sox are just hoping that Burke and the rest of their young core can finish the season on a high note.
“For our young guys, to be able to have the positive results that they’ve had while continuing to develop and make the adjustments that we’re asking them to make and go out there and do it on the field, has been great to see,” Venable said. “That’s what it’s going to take for us to finish strong.”