Astros Trade for Mike Burrows Already Paying Off Before Opening Day

The Houston Astros quietly acquired Mike Burrows from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team trade earlier this offseason, which included the Tampa Bay Rays. Burrows made his way to the Astros and hasn't wasted any time making his impact known within the organization.

Burrows made his MLB debut in 2024 with the Pirates but got much more action last season, starting in 19 games and appearing in 23. Of his outings, Burrows pitched to a 3.94 ERA with a WHIP of 1.24. Both statistics must have stood out to Houston when wanting to add another starting pitcher.

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Burrows’ Spring Has Been Unmatched

Mike Burrows during spring training. — Houston Astros Pitcher Mike Burrows (50) hydrates during spring training. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

So far this spring, Burrows has been a beast on the mound. After losing Framber Valdez to the Detroit Tigers in free agency, Burrows has been the spark to the rotation that Houston has needed, having not allowed a single run all spring across 12.2 innings of work.

On top of his stellar performances, Burrows has struck out 15 batters, walked six, and has only given up six hits. His most recent outing for the Astros saw him pitch in four innings, throwing 77 pitches. That area is one the organization should monitor, but when he's on the mound, he's been great thus far.

Going into his third season in the MLB and his first in Houston, Burrows will be on the hunt to carry this spring's success into the 2026 campaign. Paired with Hunter Brown and Tatsuya Imai, the Astros rotation could have a three-headed monster on their hands to get them back to the playoffs.

Mike Burrow pitches. — Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mike Burrows (53) delivers a pitch. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Projections haven't been kind to Burrows despite his success this spring. Baseball Reference projects him to finish with an ERA of 4.01 in just over 100 innings of work. He pitched in 96.0 innings last season with Pittsburgh, but his workload will likely increase now that he's in Houston.

His best pitches last season were off-speed, pitching in the 97th percentile in off-speed run value, according to Baseball Savant. His fastball sits around 95-96 mph, but he has a changeup that generated a whiff rate of 43.1% and was used as his put-away pitch 31.4% of the time.

Keeping the ball on the ground and in the ballpark should be the goal for Burrows this season, and while he might not sustain a zero ERA when the regular season rolls around, this just proves that the Astros could have made one of the more underrated moves this offseason in acquiring him.