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Tanner Burns

Tanner Burns
Cleveland Guardians
Pitcher
Born: (1998-12-28) December 28, 1998 (age 25)
Decatur, Alabama
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Lowell Tanner Burns (born December 28, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He was selected 36th overall by the Indians in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.

Early life and amateur career

Burns grew up in Decatur, Alabama and attended Decatur High School, where he played baseball starting in eighth grade. As a junior, Burns hit .472 with 13 home runs and 60 RBIs and went 5–2 with two saves, a 1.11 ERA and 80 strikeouts.[1] As a senior, Burns went 10–1 with a 0.88 ERA and 116 strikeouts while batting .467 with 16 homers, 10 doubles, four triples and 46 RBIs and was named Alabama Mr. Baseball, the Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year and the National Player of the Year by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.[2][3][4] Burns was selected in the 37th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Yankees but did not sign.[5]

As a true freshman at Auburn University, Burns made 17 starts, posting a 7–4 record with a 3.01 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 86+23 innings pitched and was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team and was named a Freshman All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1 Baseball and Perfect Game/Rawlings.[6][7] He was named preseason first team All-SEC going into his sophomore season.[8] He went 4–4 with a 2.82 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 15 starts (while battling shoulder issues that cause him to miss a start in Auburn's CWS appearance) and was named a third team all-American by Perfect Game.[9][10] In 2018, he was selected for United States collegiate national baseball team.[11]

Burns entered his junior season healthy, and on the watchlist for the Golden Spikes Award. He was a preseason All-American selection and was projected to be a first round selection in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[12][13][14]

Professional career

Burns was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the 36th overall selection of the draft.[15] He signed with the Indians on July 17, 2020, for a $1.6MM bonus.[16] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

Burns made his professional debut in 2021 with the Lake County Captains of the High-A Central, starting 18 games and going 2–5 with a 3.57 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 75+23 innings.[18]

References

  1. ^ Boyette, Daniel (June 18, 2016). "Iron flip: Decatur baseball star switches commitment from Alabama to Auburn". AL.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  2. ^ Boyette, Daniel (June 11, 2017). "Decatur pitcher/shortstop, Auburn signee Tanner Burns is the 2017 Mr. Baseball". AL.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  3. ^ McCann, Stu (June 16, 2017). "Auburn baseball commit Tanner Burns named national POY". ABC3340.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Boyette, Daniel (June 16, 2017). "Decatur's Tanner Burns named Collegiate Baseball HS Player of the Year". AL.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  5. ^ Green, Tom (June 13, 2017). "Auburn signees Tanner Burns, Steven Williams passing on MLB Draft, will go to college". AL.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  6. ^ Merrick, Jesse (July 11, 2018). "TANNER BURNS ONE OF THREE AUBURN FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICANS". WAAYTV.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  7. ^ "Tanner Burns looks every bit like Auburn's next ace on the mound". Montgomery Advertiser. March 2, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  8. ^ King, Nathan (February 7, 2019). "Tanner Burns named preseason 1st team All-SEC; Tigers picked to finish 7th". The Auburn Plainsman. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Caldwell, Jason (July 8, 2019). "Early look at Auburn baseball's pitching for the 2020 season". Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  10. ^ Kennedy, Jahmal (December 17, 2019). "Auburn's Tanner Burns selected as preseason All-American". WSFA.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  11. ^ "Forty-One USA Baseball Alumni Selected in the 2020 MLB Draft". USA Baseball. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  12. ^ Stultz, Brian (February 13, 2020). "Auburn baseball: Tanner Burns on Golden Spikes Award watch list". Auburn Wire. USA Today. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  13. ^ Callis, Jim (August 22, 2019). "These are the best college 2020 Draft prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  14. ^ Rogers, Joey (January 27, 2020). "Preseason recognition continues for Tanner Burns". CBS42.com. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  15. ^ Hoynes, Paul (2020-06-11). "Cleveland Indians select Auburn right-hander Tanner Burns with 36th overall pick: MLB 2020 draft". cleveland. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  16. ^ "Tanner Burns signs with Cleveland Indians". 17 July 2020.
  17. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Canceled". 30 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Guardians' top 20 prospects for 2022: Keith Law ranks Cleveland's farm system".