Kyler Burke Stats & Scouting Report

AB	2043
AVG	.248
OBP	.333
SLG	.391
HR	44

Full name Kyler Brandon Burke
Born 04/20/1988 in Chattanooga, TN
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Ooltewah
Drafted in the C-A round (35th overall) by the San Diego Padres in 2006 (signed for $950,000).

View Draft Report

After Burke became the first high school player in the state to hit 20 home runs since Jeremy Reed did it in 1998, most clubs were convinced his future was in the outfield. He has a sturdy, streamlined frame, and showed off his athletic ability when he won his school's slam dunk contest. He was also a linebacker for the football team. With above-average raw power, Burke can drive balls to all parts of the field, though his numbers were skewed because of a short right-field porch on his home field and substandard competition in southeast Tennessee. He has some feel for hitting, and showed a good eye during the spring, drawing 40 walks. He's an average runner, but better under way. He doesn't get great jumps in the outfield, but he has above-average arm strength and profiles at a corner, where he should be an adequate defender. He pitches at 89-91 mph, though his velocity often tails off to 86-88 in the middle innings. He spins a solid-average breaking ball. Burke pitches up in the zone too much. He signed with Vanderbilt, where he could be a potent two-way weapon. Similar to Twins prospect Kyle Waldrop, another high-profile Tennessee prep player who had committed to Vandy, Burke is expected to sign if he's taken in the top two rounds.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

The Padres gave Burke $950,000 as the 35th overall pick in the 2006 draft, but soured on him when he hit just .210 in 107 games in the lower levels of their system. They traded him to the Cubs for Michael Barrett the following June. Chicago discussed using Burke on the mound before the 2009 season, but he insisted he could hit, and the Cubs told him it was time to prove it. He did just that, winning the organization's minor league player of the year award. Burke improved both his plate discipline and power. He has a short, direct lefthanded swing and stays inside pitches well. His power is to the gaps--he led the MWL with 43 doubles--and he could have plus power in time because he drives the ball well to left-center. He'll have to show more pop against lefthanders to become more than a platoon partner in the big leagues. He can be too patient, taking hittable pitches, but he has cut down on his tendency to chase pitches when he fell behind in the count. Though Burke has below-average speed, he runs the bases well. He played all three outfield positions and first base last year, fitting best in right field. His instincts give him slightly above-average range and reads on the corners, and he has one of the best outfield arms in the minors. On the 20-80 scouting scale, his arm strength rates a 70 and his accuracy an 80, allowing him to rack up 43 assists in 378 games in the outfield. Burke should see Double-A at some point in 2010.
The 35th overall pick in the 2007 draft, Burke never got untracked in the Padres system after signing for $950,000. He batted just .210 with two homers in 107 games, and San Diego soured on him enough that it included him in a June trade for the embattled Michael Barrett. Burke got off to a less than auspicious start with the Cubs, going 0-for-22 at short-season Boise before recovering to hit .282/.361/.495 for the remainder of the summer. The key to his resurgence was getting more aggressive at the plate. Burke has a sound knowledge of the strike zone and good patience, but he would get too passive at times, taking strikes down the middle and then chasing offspeed pitches once he fell behind in the count. Athletic and strong, he should develop at least 20-homer power, though he needs to make contact and use the whole field more often. Burke has slightly below-average speed but is better once he gets underway. He's a solid right fielder with the best arm strength among the system's outfielders. He built on his progress in Hawaii Winter Baseball, where he hit .333 but also struck out 37 times in 87 at-bats. He's ready to give the low Class A Midwest League another shot in 2008, this time at Peoria.
The first Tennessee high school player to hit 20 home runs since 1998, Burke also pitched and played linebacker for the Ooltewah High football team. Burke is a natural athlete, but his prep performance may have been aided by substandard competition in southeast Tennessee and a short right-field fence at his home field. The Padres keyed in on Burke's all-around potential and sound batting eye, and took him with the 35th overall pick in June, then signed him for $950,000. As a pro, he showcased a clean swing, but tended to drift with his body into pitches and get out on his front foot. He also had a tough time making contact when Arizona League pitchers began feeding him a steady diet of breaking balls and changeups. In fact, after hitting safely in 11 of his first 13 games, Burke batted just .168 afterward, which included a 4-for-47 slump. Because it was his first taste of failure, he lost confidence and assertiveness. But the Padres think highly of Burke's potential to hit for average and power, and believe it's just a matter of finding rhythm and timing at the plate. His range and speed are average at best, but plus arm strength--he hit 91 mph off the mound in high school--will allow him to handle right field. Burke will have every chance to make the low Class A Fort Wayne roster.

Minor League Top Prospects

A year after signing with the Padres as a supplemental first-rounder, Burke was struggling in low Class A when he was sent to the Cubs in a trade for Michael Barrett. Burke went hitless in his first 22 at-bats in the NWL before rediscovering his confidence and finally showing what makes him a prospect by slamming 10 home runs and raising his average to a respectable .254. "When he first came over there, he was a little bit shellshocked," Boise manager Tom Beyers said. "He was a first-rounder and all of a sudden a year later you're sitting in somebody else's locker room. Once he met everybody with the Cubs, he was probably for me one of our most improved players." A good athlete with a muscular frame, Burke has thump in his bat and some feel for putting the barrel of the bat on the ball. He's pull-oriented and at times overaggressive. A fringe-average runner with a plus arm, he should develop into a dependable right fielder with some offensive upside.
While he has five-tool ability, Burke also work to do, as competition in the lowest level of the U.S. minors proved to be quite tougher than that in the Chattanooga area. He hit safely in 11 of his first 13 games but batted just .168 afterward, including a 4-for-47 slump. Burke drifted with his body into pitches, got out on his front foot and had difficulty making consistent contact. He lost confidence after his first taste of failure, but he maintained a good attitude throughout his struggles. Physically, Burke was one of the league's better specimens. He has above-average speed and strength, and has the raw power desired in a right fielder. After touching the low 90s with his fastball as a high school pitcher, he featured one of the AZL's best outfield arms.