There were times when Burnett's command deserted him, as often happens in the first year after Tommy John surgery, but for the most part he was extremely good in every way. Held to a strict pitch count early in his return, he stuck mainly to his 94-96 MPH fastball and hump-backed curve in order to conserve bullets. His fastball, which had been clocked several times at 100 MPH in 2002, returned to that level post-surgery. When he gets on a roll, Burnett stalks the mound like a panther, making hitters dance amid an array of effectively wild hard stuff. Surgery did nothing to interrupt the maturation in his thought process on the mound.
Defense & Hitting
Burnett, with two career homers, doesn't get cheated at the plate. He is a solid bunter as well. A lanky athlete, he fields his position well but needs to do a better job minding baserunners. He allowed 14 stolen bases in 19 attempts.
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