Power arm, big strikeout upside, and a pro-ready reliever profile
In the 2026 season, Texas RHP Thomas Burns stood out as a high-leverage bullpen weapon, striking out 43 batters in 22⅓ innings while delivering a SEC-best 42.2% strikeout rate among pitchers with at least 20 innings; over his Texas career he logged 83 strikeouts in 49 innings and held hitters to a .183 average. His calling card is a hard-throwing, upper-90s fastball with an intimidating mound presence, and evaluators also point to a usable mix of off-speed pitches. The tradeoff: command and run prevention can fluctuate, so he fits teams that value swing-and-miss stuff over spotless efficiency.
