Corbin Burnes DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Corbin Burnes posted his third straight quality start in Friday's 8-0 win over the Rockies. The veteran tossed six shutout innings, yielding two hits and three walks while striking out a season high 10 batters on the way to earning his third win of the season. The righty is now 3-1 and the performance lowered his ERA to 2.56 with a 1.25 WHIP and an 11.1 K-BB%. The 6-foot-3 hurler's strikeout rate has been dwindling since 2020, and his 11.6 percent walk rate this year is easily a career worst, but the 4x All-Star has been able to strand runners (80.8 percent LOB%) and limit damage. Burnes has been better at home (1.48 ERA) than on the road (3.80 ERA), and his next turn through the rotation will bring a tough matchup with the Dodgers in Los Angeles, so he may not be a DFS option for that contest on Wednesday.

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Corbin Burnes struck out five batters over seven scoreless innings in Saturday's 3-0 home win against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The righty allowed five hits and issued two free passes while landing 58 of 91 pitches for strikes (12 whiffs) in his return to the rotation. Burnes had dealt with shoulder inflammation that caused Arizona to skip his last turn, but a cortisone injection had him feeling much better. While the California native has done a good job of limiting damage against him this season (2.95 ERA), he hasn't nearly pitched up to the level that we've come to expect. Burnes is sporting career-highs in hard-hit percentage (50.5%) and average exit velocity (91.0 MPH) while affording batters a .275 xBA thus far. It's encouraging that he pitched well against the Dodgers, but a 5.34 xERA is a cause for concern (4.39 xFIP).

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes (shoulder) said he's still tracking toward a return to the starting rotation on Saturday against the division-rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Burnes needs to check one last box with a successful bullpen session on Wednesday. The 30-year-old veteran said he had a cortisone injection last Friday to help him with right-shoulder inflammation that caused the team to skip him from his last start on Monday. Instead, he threw off flat ground on Monday and is apparently feeling much better. Burnes is typically a must-start in fantasy each time he toes the rubber, but this Saturday's outing against the dangerous Dodgers would be a time to fade him if there ever was one. Despite dealing with a shoulder issue last time out, he picked up the win over the Mets last Wednesday by going six innings with one earned run, five walks and three strikeouts.