Zack Burdi

Burdi is part of the first family to ever have two members of the century club. His older brother Nick, a reliever in the Twins organization and 2014 second-round pick, has touched 100 mph pretty regularly going back to his days at Louisville and now Zach has done the same. Burdi sits 97-99 and touches 100 regularly as the Cardinals' closer. Burdi pitches from an extremely closed setup. Working exclusively from the stretch he sets up on the far righthand side of the rubber with his front foot pointed back towards shortstop as he begins his delivery. Using a very modest leg lift, Burdi generates exceptional velocity because of a very fast arm. What separates Burdi from most college relievers is his three-pitch mix. Because his arm works well and he has a plus changeup as well as a less consistent but hard 85-89 mph slider that has flashed plus, there are scouts who believe that some team will take him early to see if he can start. But many scouts believe his future lies in the bullpen where his fringe-average control fits better.