DETROIT – Detroit Tigers prospect Beau Burrows took the mound for the first time in nearly two months Monday and looked sharp for Single-A Lakeland.
Burrows has been sidelined since an April 27 start for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. He allowed eight earned runs in that outing and something clearly wasn't right.
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The Tigers' No. 6 prospect had allowed 14 earned runs on 21 hits and 11 walks in 23.2 innings.
Burrows was much better Monday, holding the St. Lucie Mets scoreless over four innings, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out five. He threw 34 of 59 pitches for strikes.
It was a step in the right direction for Burrows, but it certainly wasn't dominant. The 2015 first-round pick generated just four swinging strikes, continuing his trend of struggling to miss bats. He had fewer than 10 swinging strikes in four of his five starts before hitting the injured list.
Burrows is only 22 years old, but the Tigers certainly could have used him early this season. When Michael Fulmer, Matt Moore, Tyson Ross and Jordan Zimmermann went down with injuries, the absence of Burrows and Kyle Funkhouser from the Triple-A roster was costly.
Burrows has been solid but not outstanding above Single-A in his young career. He owns a 4.32 ERA, 1.398 WHIP and nearly a strikeout per inning in 41 Double-A starts -- useful numbers if they translate to the MLB level at some point.
Tigers fans are still awaiting word on No. 1 prospect Casey Mize, who was pulled from his last start with shoulder inflammation.
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