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Triple-A Gwinnett placed Burkhalter on the 7-day injured list March 27 with back spasms, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.
Burkhalter, a 25-year-old righty, worked as a starter at Double-A and as a reliever at Triple-A last year. Despite the move to relief, his fastball didn't tick up past the mid-90s, and he managed just a 23:16 K:BB in 31 innings at Triple-A.
Braves' Blake Burkhalter: Returns to action for Rome
Rotowire
High-A Rome reinstated Burkhalter (elbow) from its 7-day injured list Sunday.
Burkhalter made his High-A debut Sunday in Rome's 5-0 loss to Winston-Salem, working 3.1 innings and striking out two while giving up one run on six hits and no walks. A second-round pick in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft, Burkhalter missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was on the shelf for most of the first two months of the 2024 campaign before he reported to the rookie-level Arizona Complex League in late May and made two rehab appearances.
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Braves' Blake Burkhalter: Headed for Tommy John surgery
Rotowire
Manager Brian Snitker said Thursday that Burkhalter (elbow) will require Tommy John surgery, Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Burkhalter was a second-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Auburn, where he posted a 3.01 ERA with 104 strikeouts over 71.2 career NCAA innings. The 22-year-old right-hander has logged only 4.2 innings to date in pro ball, and it's obviously going to be a while before he's back on the mound.
