Rangers' Burke to undergo shoulder surgery

A sunny spring has taken a dark turn for one left-handed pitching prospect.
Brock Burke will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder this Friday and is likely to miss the entire 2020 season as a result, the Rangers announced Monday. Burke, who finished 2019 as Texas' No. 7 prospect per MLB.com, requires the surgery to fix a partial tear of his left labrum. He was shut down with shoulder issues in late September, and his condition had not improved this spring.

The Rangers acquired the 23-year-old left-hander from the Rays in December 2018 as part of a three-team deal that also included the A's. (Jurickson Profar, who went from Texas to Oakland, was the biggest name in that swap.) After starting out the 2019 season with Double-A Frisco, Burke was limited by blisters that allowed him to only make three appearances before mid-June. He finished with a 3.18 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings in the Texas League. Burke made two starts at Triple-A Nashville and eventually debuted in the Majors on Aug. 20. He made six starts for the Rangers, posting a 7.43 ERA with 14 strikeouts and 11 walks in 26 2/3 big league innings before being shut down.

Those struggles, along with Texas' offseason acquisitions of Corey Kluber, Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles, meant that the 2014 third-rounder was likely to open 2020 in Triple-A even if healthy.
Burke has three solid pitches in his fastball, slider and changeup. The fastball typically sits the low-90s. The three-pitch mix gives him a chance to start in the Majors if he can bounce back following shoulder surgery.