Sean Burke's April: It's not going well

The White Sox raised some eyebrows at the beginning of the 2024 season when they named Garrett Crochet their Opening Day starter.

Prior to that, Crochet had never started a game in the big leagues. Turns out, making Crochet a starter was a rare good decision in a historically terrible season. Crochet made the All-Star team and established himself as a clear top-of-the-rotation arm. 

He pitched so well that he got himself traded to the Boston Red Sox for four prospects, and Boston has since given him a lucrative six-year, $170 million contract extension.

Fast-forward to 2025, and the Sox once again raised some eyebrows when they announced Sean Burke would be their Opening Day starter. 

Burke made three strong September starts last season, winning two of them, but it was still curious that the Sox decided to trust a pitcher with only 19 major league innings under his belt with a high-profile start.

That said, the Sox lacked options, and perhaps they earned the benefit of the doubt after their bold decision on Crochet last season came up aces.

Initially, Burke rewarded the Sox for their faith. He fired six scoreless innings on Opening Day and picked up the win. But man, in the three starts since then, it has been rough. Here are Burke's most recent pitching lines:

April 2 vs. Minnesota: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 K, 0 BBs

April 9 at Cleveland: 3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 Ks, 4 BBs 

Tuesday vs. Sacramento: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 Ks, 2 BBs

Fourteen earned runs in 10.2 innings over three starts isn't going to cut it. Burke is now 1-3 with a 7.56 ERA after taking the loss in Tuesday's 12-3 defeat to the Athletics.

Three batters into the game, Tyler Soderstrom hit a 3-run homer to put Sacramento up 3-0. The Sox got that back in the bottom of the first when Andrew Vaughn answered with his second home run of the season, a 3-run shot that tied the score.

But Burke continued to struggle, giving up a run in the second and another run in the third, before he failed to make it through the fourth inning. The Athletics pounded lumps on the Sox bullpen, and this was never much of a game.

My initial thought is to send Burke back to Triple-A Charlotte to work out his problems. Unfortunately, the Sox are lacking in starting pitching options with Drew Thorpe, Ky Bush and Mason Adams all done for the season with elbow injuries.

Thorpe was projected to be part of the major league rotation this season, but he's not available. Bush and Adams were supposed to be the top two guys in the Charlotte rotation this season. Coming into the year, I figured we would see both in Chicago at some point. Because of injury, we will not.

So what other options are there in Charlotte? None, frankly. Jairo Iriarte has walked nine batters in nine innings, and he's got an 8.00 ERA. Nick Nastrini has a 6.17 ERA, and he has nothing that can get left-handed batters out. I think his future is in the bullpen. Justin Dunn (7.11) is a 29-year-old journeyman who hasn't distinguished himself.

Those are the top three in the Charlotte rotation. Pitching struggles are the reason the Knights are 6-10. Despite Burke's issues, there may be no other choice than to let him work his problems out in the Chicago rotation.

The Sox are 4-12.