Milwaukee Brewers: 5 Bold Predictions For The 2019 Season

Bold Prediction #3

Corbin Burnes establishes himself as the ‘Ace’ of the rotation, wins Cy Young award

The other day, Robert Murray of The Athletic wrote an article (subscription required) on Corbin Burnes adding a changeup and a sinker to his arsenal which now boasts five(!) pitches. His fastball, slider, and curveball were already filthy enough and got him to a 2.61 ERA in 30 appearances last year.

Now he’s adding a changeup and a sinker to that? Hitters will have no chance against Burnes this year.

Although he’s young at 24 years old and this would be his first season in the big league rotation, Burnes has the stuff, the command, and the stamina to become the homegrown frontline starting pitcher the Milwaukee Brewers have long been searching for.

Jhoulys Chacin had a strong 2018 season, but even though he’s an established starter, I still wouldn’t consider him an ‘ace’. Jimmy Nelson, as previously described, will hopefully pick up where he left off, and he could re-take that title of ‘ace’ but I think it’s Burnes that will seize that title for himself. Nelson will probably have some restrictions on innings this season, while Burnes will not.

As for the Cy Young award, I think it would be a total shock for him to upset the league and overtake pitchers like Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and others to win the award. It would have to be a ridiculous season for him to do so. It may be more reasonable to look for a Top-5 finish in Cy Young voting for the young Burnes, but this isn’t a reasonable predictions article, this is a bold predictions article.

Corbin Burnes will win the 2019 NL Cy Young award.

That’s right, I said it. The 2019 NL Cy Young winner will be Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers.

I believe this kid will burst onto the scene in 2019 and make his presence felt across the league. A full season, 30+ starts, with a sub-3.00 ERA is what’s coming for Burnes. If he dominates the second half like Yelich did last year, he can build up enough momentum to win the award at season’s end.

His 2018 bullpen and postseason performance is reason enough for optimism. He’s dominated all through the minor leagues and Burnes will continue his skyward trend. I can’t wait to see him as a full-time starter this season and watch what he can do at full power.