Arizona State baseball opens up season with true freshman starter

PHOENIX, — It’s opening day for Arizona State baseball in the valley. The Sun Devils are opening up their 2024 campaign with a series against Santa Clara. Last season Santa Clara went 36-20 overall and 17-10 in the West Coast Conference. When the Diamond Devils take the field tonight, they will do so with a true freshman starting them off on the mound.

Arizona State baseball opens season with a true freshman pitcher

Right-handed pitcher Thomas Burns will be Arizona State baseball’s first true freshman to start a season opener since Ike Davis in 2006. Davis went on to win Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, as well as being named to the All-Pac-10 First Team.

Davis also played multiple positions and went on to play first-basemen while in MLB. However, Burns is a pure pitcher and one that has earned the trust of head coach Willie Bloomquist and pitching coach Sam Peraza.

Burns stands six-foot-three and is from Hortonville, Wisconsin. Both Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report tabbed Burns as a top-500 prospect and PBR clocked in Burns as the No. 171 RHP.

While in high school Burns earned a first-team All-State selection from the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association.

It’s always unclear what kind of performance should be expected from a player making their first collegiate appearance. Tonight will be no different. Peraza has mentioned wanting to avoid having starters face a rotation for the third time around, as that’s something the Sun Devils struggled with last season.

Burns throws in the mid-90s and has swing-and-miss stuff that the staff expects to be effective when facing opponents the first and second time through. We’ll see how Burns does tonight in his debut at 6:30 pm AZT at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

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