From shoulder-shelved to rotation-assured in one simple season!
Sean Burke
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
6´6´´
230 pounds
Age: 25
2022 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 16
2023 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 10
2024 South Side Sox Top Prospect Ranking 18
2024 High Level Chicago (MLB)
Age relative to high level -5.0 years
SSS rank among all right-handed starters in the system 6
Overall 2024 MiLB stats 2-7 ⚾️ 19 starts ⚾️ 71 2⁄3 IP ⚾️ 4.77 ERA ⚾️ 1.340 WHIP ⚾️ 103 K ⚾️ 41 BB ⚾️ Simple WAR 1.1
Sean Burke was quite the athlete while playing for St. John’s H.S. (Worcester, Mass.). Not only did he play baseball, on the hardwood he averaged 22 ppg as the Pioneers’ starting center. On offense, Burke hit nearly .400 while driving in 17 runs as a senior. And, of course, he went 5-0 with a 0.44 ERA while striking out more than a hitter per inning during his junior year (2017) in helping his Pioneers win the Massachusetts Division 1A Super 8 Championship. Ultimately, despite various recruiting offers, he opted to play his college ball in the Big 10 for the Maryland Terrapins.
Unfortunately for Burke, his college career got off to a late start, as he didn’t play ball in 2019 due to Tommy John surgery. He started four games as a redshirt freshman in 2020 and did exceptionally well (a 2.38 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 22 2⁄3 innings) before the pandemic shutdown. Then in 2021, as a redshirt sophomore, Burke posted a 3.27 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 14 games (13 starts). In his 74 1⁄3 innings for the Terrapins, he relinquished just 48 hits and 42 walks (5.09 BB/9) while fanning 107 (12.96 K/9). Concerns about his control, and perhaps his injury past and small college sample size Burke fell to the third round, where the White Sox were ecstatic to land him.
Despite being quite young for a college draft pick, Burke was rushed through the White Sox system, getting just three innings in the ACL after being drafted before promotion to Kannapolis (five starts). In 2022 he started the year with a 28-inning cup of coffee at High-A Winston-Salem before landing in Double-A Birmingham for the majority of his season. As if playing two-and-a-half years young for that level wasn’t enough, the White Sox advanced him to Triple-A for two starts, presumably allowing Burke to pick out his locker in Charlotte and keep all his stuff there in the offseason before returning.
Burke’s fast movement, ill-advised or no, was not unwarranted, as he ran out a 3.21 ERA in Low-A, 2.89 at High-A, and 4.81 at Double-A, where he was 2.4 years young for the level.
So everything was set up for Burke to return to Charlotte in 2023 and serve as the unofficial No. 6 starter for the club, likely the first on the plane for an injury or 27th-man start up in Chicago. On the way to 2023 glory, however, Burke battled rotator cuff tendinitis through nine miserable starts before getting shut down for the season.
Which makes Burke’s turnaround in 2024 all the more miraculous. Starting back in the ACL for three is-he-ready? starts that weren’t quite conclusive (6.14 ERA, 1.773 WHIP), Burke leaped to Charlotte for the balance of his season work. There was progress in Triple-A (4.62 ERA, 1.290 WHIP) over 16 starts, but nothing that would have prepared fans for what Burke trotted out in Chicago in September: four games/three starts, 0.9 WAR, three earned runs in 19 innings, 1.000 WHIP.
Burke’s Baseball Cube player ratings
Strikeouts 80
vsPower 74
Hittable 74
K/BB 54
Durability 48
Walks 33
Average 60.50
Burke entered 2024 fairly far down the depth chart in the organization, with no guarantee he could handle a rotation workload any longer (more than 90 innings in a season starting well into May, box checked). He arrives at Camelback Ranch in 2025 with a rotation spot on the South Side his to lose.
2025 South Side Sox Top 100 White Sox Prospects
20. Sean Burke, RHSP
21. Nick Nastrini, RHSP
22. Blake Larson, LHSP
23. Tyler Schweitzer, LHSP
24. Alexander Albertus, 3B
25. Wilfred Veras, RF
26. Seth Keener, RHSP
27. William Bergolla, 2B
28. Samuel Zavala, CF
29. Peyton Pallette, RHRP
30. Jake Eder, LHSP
31. Juan Carela, RHSP
32. Javier Mogollón, SS
33. Nick McLain, RF
34. Ronny Hernandez, C
35. Casey Saucke, RF
36. Eric Adler, RHRP
37. Rikuu Nishida, 2B
38. Shane Smith, RHSP
39. Tim Elko, 1B
40. Zach DeLoach, LF
41. Riley Gowens, RHSP
42. Prelander Berroa, RHRP
43. Sam Antonacci, 2B
44. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
45. Jarold Rosado, RHRP
46. Ryan Galanie, 1B
47. Trey McGough, LHRP
48. Ricardo Brizuela, RHSP
49. Lucas Gordon, LHSP
50. Aaron Combs, RHRP (traded to Phillies on January 1)
51. DJ Gladney, RF
52. Abraham Núñez, CF
53. Andre Lipcius, 1B
54. Shawn Goosenberg, 1B
55. Caden Connor, 1B
56. Mario Camilletti, 2B
57. Jake Peppers, RHSP
58. Ryan Burrowes, SS
59. Garrett Schoenle, LHRP
60. Jackson Appel, C
61. Tommy Vail, LHSP
62. Bryce Collins, RHRP
63. Tanner McDougal, RHSP
64. Stiven Flores, C
65. T.J. McCants, CF
66. Gil Luna, LHRP
67. Fraser Ellard, LHRP
68. Zach Franklin, RHRP
69. Drew Dalquist, RHRP
70. Nick Altermatt, RHRP
71. Carson Jacobs, RHRP
72. Alec Makarewicz, 1B
73. Jacob Burke, CF
74. Calvin Harris, C
75. Terrell Tatum, CF
76. Phil Fox, RHRP
77. Reudis Diaz, RHSP
78. Jurdrick Profar, SS
79. Drew McDaniel, RHSP
80. Michael Turner, C
81. Caleb Freeman, RHRP
82. Braden Shewmake, SS (designated for assignment on January 1, claimed by Royals)
83. Connor McCullough, RHSP
84. Shane Murphy, LHSP
85. Mikey Kane, 1B
86. Daniel González, LHRP
87. Wes Kath, 3B
88. Pierce George, RHRP
89. Tristan Stivors, RHRP
90. Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa, RHRP
91. Chase Plymell, RHRP
92. Eddie Park, CF
93. Loidel Chapelli, 2B
94. Adam Hackenberg, C
95. Adrian Gil, 1B
96. Jared Kelley, RHRP
97. Lyle Miller-Green, 1B
98. Marcelo Alcala, RF
99. Drake Logan, LF
100. Cole McConnell, CF