Mike Burrows needs an overhaul, not adjustments, if Astros hope to win this trade

Houston Astros starters haven't pitched well this season, and it's fair to suggest that Tatsuya Imai has been the most disappointing member of the starting rotation. But Mike Burrows is giving Imai a run for his money.

The Astros coveted Burrows for quite some time, and were thrilled to acquire him in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fans had heard about the adjustments the Astros coaching staff were planning to make with his usage, and how they viewed him as a breakout arm. Instead, Burrows has just a 5.72 ERA and 5.00 FIP through his first nine starts this season.

After his latest dud against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday — giving up seven runs over almost six innings — manager Joe Espada tried to gas Burrows up and talk about how he was "one or two pitches away from having a really good outing." That may be true, but the bigger problem is that while the Astros made improvements in Burrows’ pitch usage, he's throwing his fastball too much.

Astros could help Mike Burrows a lot if they would radically change his pitch usage and location

It was encouraging to see the Astros have Burrows throw the four-seamer less during his last start. He came into the game throwing his four-seam fastball around 28% of the time, and that went down to just 15.6% on 102 pitches. But the modest reduction isn't enough.

Opposing batters are hitting .333 and slugging .786 against Burrows' fastball. He struggled with the pitch last year as well. The opposition is waiting for Burrows to throw it, and he has no feel for the pitch.

If it's a strike, it is right down Main Street and served on a platter. If it is not a strike, it's not a competitive pitch, and hitters don't bother to swing. If you can't keep hitters guessing or can get adequate movement with your four-seamer, it's going to get crushed.

It seems like the Astros finally understand that something has to change. The shift to his sinker has merit, in theory, but hitters feast on that pitch, too. What needs to happen is a complete change in fastball grips and a concerted effort to locate his pitches differently.

Hitters are not fooled by Burrows right now, and that's making all of his other pitches play down as well. It was nice to see some progress, but the results clearly showed here that half-measures are not going to be enough.

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