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Info on Kyler Burke (aquired in Barrett trade)

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He's headed to Boise. Amusingly enough, the Idaho Statesman got his first name right and his last name wrong:

 

Notes: The Chicago Cubs assigned another player to Boise on Friday. Kyler Wright, a supplemental first-round draft pick in 2006 out of Ooltewah (Tenn.) High, was expected to join the Hawks on Friday night. Wright was traded to the Cubs from the San Diego Padres on Wednesday as part of the Michael Barrett trade. …

 

http://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/story/90180.html

chattbaseball College Ball

chattbaseball

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Found this on Ducksnorts - a Padres blog. This commentary is from a recent "Padres Prospect Report."

 

Here's the link, but I've included the text in case you don't want to go to the site and scroll down to the part about Burke.

http://ducksnorts.com/blog/2007/06/nothing-night.html

 

"Padres Prospect Report

 

by Peter Friberg

 

The staff over at MadFriars.com visit each of the Padres’ minor league teams a few times every season. Each time they make a visit, we’ll ask a few questions and get their perspective on various topics germane to that team. By the way, if you like Padres’ minor league coverage, you must check them out at MadFriars.com.

 

This latest installment is from John Conniff, who just got back from the Padres Low-A affiliate, Fort Wayne [Ed note: Due to extreme lameness on the part of yours truly, this is running very late; apologies to all.]:.......

 

.......PPR: Kyler Burke is scuffling (71 strikeouts in 60 games) — though he’s actually been okay in June (.260/.373/.360). Are the Padres going to leave him in Fort Wayne or send him back to Eugene? What should they do?

 

[Ed note: Burke since has been traded to the Chicago Cubs as part of the deal that brought Michael Barrett to San Diego.]

 

MF: I thought the same about Burke as you before I went to Fort Wayne — really anyone who looks at the numbers would, which is a big reason why we try to see these guys play in person.

 

Burke played one of the better right fields that I have seen in a long time and he is very athletic, a three-sport star in high school including the winner of a local slam dunk contest.

 

After bottoming out in May, he’s having his best month so far in June — .260/.373/.360 — which aren’t great numbers, but a lot better than what he was doing. He’s got a nice, easy, compact swing that when he squares the ball it travels. His two big problems at the plate this year have been the Padres have really tweaked his high school aluminum bat swing and have put in place a better approach for the pro game. Also, like Kevin Kouzmanoff, he’s starting to understand what his strike zone is, and it’s not only about swinging at strikes, but his strikes. You could literally see the improvement day by day. He told me after Friday’s game this is the first time he’s starting to feel the correct instincts at the plate, what his weight shift should be, recognizing pitches and having an idea of what he can do up there, and just as importantly what he can’t.

 

When you talk to the coaches they will all say he was hitting very well in the instructs [instructional league] and spring training, it was just a question of him applying it to games. Even though he’s struggled, he’s kept his head up and keeps improving everyday. As they will frequently tell you, mantra like, this level is about development and they believe Burke’s struggles at this level are going to help him down the road more than if they left him in extended spring training. The Padres decided he was better off struggling for the first half in Fort Wayne than not being challenged in extended spring training. I think he’s going to have a good second half.

 

Remember, as with Hunter, both these players are high school guys and are going to struggle some. With each of them its more of a question of trying to harness their high talent ceilings than with some college guys that are trying to see if their current levels are enough to take them to the big leagues. All of us want to see the Padres draft more young guys with big ceilings who potentially have bigger upsides than many safe picks. Both Burke and Hunter are those types of players, but require a little more time and patience."

southern man Prep Ball

southern man

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Padres were right....this time. They essentially gave up on Burke, and the Cubs got stuck with him. I am very familiar with him, having seen him in dozens of high school games here in Tennessee.

 

He's got the tools. Good build, good attitude, smart kid. Good outfielder, decent pitcher. But most of his high school hitting numbers were posted against weaker schools with weak pitching. In games at the district or region level, he struggled at the plate in clutch situations.

 

Although I read the hype that surrounded him in the local papers at the time, I always noticed that he choked against good pitching, with an important game on the line.

 

When the Padres signed him for big $$$, I had my doubts that he was really all that. From what I've observed so far from his stats in Fort Wayne and Boise, he still has trouble making contact against good pitching. Hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

 

He would have been better off accepting a full ride from Vanderbilt...hope it's still valid.

chattbaseball College Ball

chattbaseball

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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Padres were right....this time. They essentially gave up on Burke, and the Cubs got stuck with him. I am very familiar with him, having seen him in dozens of high school games here in Tennessee.

 

He's got the tools. Good build, good attitude, smart kid. Good outfielder, decent pitcher. But most of his high school hitting numbers were posted against weaker schools with weak pitching. In games at the district or region level, he struggled at the plate in clutch situations.

 

Although I read the hype that surrounded him in the local papers at the time, I always noticed that he choked against good pitching, with an important game on the line.

 

When the Padres signed him for big $$$, I had my doubts that he was really all that. From what I've observed so far from his stats in Fort Wayne and Boise, he still has trouble making contact against good pitching. Hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

 

He would have been better off accepting a full ride from Vanderbilt...hope it's still valid.

 

You're probably right. He's getting pretty old since he turned 19 a couple of months ago. I'd say it's time he just hung it up and went to the house since he's been in professional baseball forever - one year and three weeks!

 

Also, striking out one time in 15 plate appearances means you can't make contact either. That's actually a vast improvement over the previous 65 games.

 

There's no questions Burke's numbers are down. But with a kid who is so young, it's not practical to write him off after one year. If everyone moved through a system like Colvin there would be a massive logjam at the big league level.

 

You were correct about a few things though. He's a good kid with a good attitude and work ethic. He'll be fine.

southern man Prep Ball

southern man

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Spoke too soon....3 more K's in his most recent game. That's 4 in 15 official AB's....still hitless, leaving lots of runners stranded.

 

Is there serious talk of converting him to a pitcher? He might be of more help to the Cubs on the mound.

  • 4 weeks later...
TruffleShuffle Cooperstown

TruffleShuffle

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from BP:

 

Burke was the big prize of last month’s Michael Barrett trade, though the value of that prize was debatable, as San Diego’s supplemental fist-rounder from last year was hitting just .211/.305/.268 for Low A Fort Wayne at the time of the deal. Clearly not ready for a full-season league, the Cubs put the 19-year-old on their Northwest League roster, and he started his career with the organization in a 0-for-22 slump. Much like his new parent club, Burke has come alive in July, going deep on Sunday as part of a ten-game hot streak in which he’s gone 16-for-33 with five doubles and three home runs, which has raised his season averages at Boise to .283/.411/.517. Burke’s bat speed and power are both impressive, and there’s potential for him to shine in a system that’s pretty short on high-ceiling offensive prospects.

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