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  "path": "/white-sox/2026/03/23/opening-day-to-no-2-white-sox-sean-burke-entering-pivotal-second-season",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-23T20:54:18.111Z",
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  "textContent": "<p>GLENDALE, Ariz. — A year ago at this time, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox\" >White Sox</a> right-hander Sean Burke was preparing to be the team’s Opening Day starter.</p><p>The gamble to start Burke, who had four major-league starts before getting the nod, paid off initially. Burke threw six scoreless innings on Opening Day in an 8-1 Sox win over the Angels. But his performance took a sharp downturn.</p><p>Burke wasn’t striking out hitters and was struggling to go deep into starts, depleting the bullpen as a result. He wasn’t getting ahead of hitters and struggled to induce swings-and-misses. It became untenable to the point that he was demoted to Triple-A Charlotte in August.</p><p>The club publicly supported him but also made it known that he and right-hander Joanthan Cannon would have to win a spot in the rotation during spring training this year.</p><p>“It's easy to look at like the rollercoaster of the year, but for me, I just take away the highs of it,” said Burke, who posted a 4.22 ERA last season. “When things are going well for me, I'm up there competing against the best guys in the world and showing I can get those guys out consistently. So it's not really much about changing a ton of stuff I'm doing. It's more just being consistent.”</p><p>But until his last spring training start, the results hadn’t followed. He entered the outing with a 4.97 ERA but proceeded to mow through the Mariners’ lineup. Burke threw five innings, allowing two runs on three hits with six strikeouts and a walk.</p><p>“I’m ready to get to the real thing at this point,” Burke said. “But happy to end on a good one; get in a good rhythm.”</p><p>Spring training performances are often fool's gold. Spring standouts often turn into regular season disappointments and vice versa. But it was the way Burke pitched that gave him confidence.</p><p>The key for Burke is the four-seamer. He doesn’t project to be a guy that pitches to contact, so getting swings and misses with the fastball will be his bread-and-butter. He induced 11 whiffs on Sunday.</p><p>“We talked a ton throughout [spring training], specifically with [assistant pitching coach Bobby Hearn], and [new pitching coach Zach Bove] about leveraging counts and attacking hitters,\" Burke said. \"That’s been my main focus and just sticking to that. I think a good example of that is when I got hit around a little bit in that first inning [March 5 loss against Cleveland] a couple of weeks ago.</p><p>\"It’s sticking to the plan and knowing over a large sample, if I’m attacking the zone and making good pitches, that’s not going to happen more often than not over a large sample size. Just trying not to deviate from that plan. Be consistent with that.”</p><p>Consistency is what eluded Burke for much of last season. He would pair tantalizing flashes — like his 10-strikeout performance in the final game of the year — with subpar performances — like allowing six runs and three homers over five innings in a July start against the Blue Jays.</p><p>His potential has dimmed after last year’s inconsistencies, and his leash will likely be short because the team is trying to take a meaningful step forward. But Burke showed the team enough this spring to award him not just a spot in the rotation, but also the No. 2 spot.</p><p>Now it’s on Burke to reward the coaching staff’s faith and show through his performance that he should remain in the rotation.</p><p>“He continues to be creative in ways to get guys out, and he’s done a really nice job,” manager Will Venable said.</p><p></p><p></p><div class=\"PageListL\" data-module data-hide-authors=\"true\" data-hide-categories=\"true\" data-hide-dates=\"true\" data-show-loadmore=\"true\" ><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"list-4a0005\" name=\"list-4a0005\"></a><div class=\"PageList-header\" > <div class=\"PageList-header-title-wrap\" > <div class=\"PageList-header-title\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox\" target=\"{borderColor=#dfdfdf, pageNumber=1, count=9773, inverseColors=false, footerBgColor=#000000, pullQuoteIcon=[{image=null, narrowImage=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, alt=null}], bodyFont=font-3, showListNumbers=false, imagePositionHorizontal=null, rteBodyFont=font-3, headerBottomBorderColor=#111010, subTitle=null, stickyHeader=true, listTitleColor=#000000, tableCellBorderColor=#ccd1d5, relatedListFont=font-1, hideAuthors=true, tertiaryTextColor=#6c6c6c, buttonHoverTextColor=#ffffff, tableFont=font-1, carouselAutoPlay=false, items=[{type=Image, publishDate=March 23, 2026 03:54 PM, description=[{items=[Burke had a turbulent season in 2025 that saw him go from Opening Day starter to Triple A. ]}], _styledTemplate=null, category=[{items=[White Sox]}], imageAlignment=null, timestamp=1774299258000, categoryUrl=https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox, isFeatured=false, authors=[{jobTitle=[{items=[Sports reporter, Report for America]}], name=[{items=[Kyle Williams]}], ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/author/byline/AuthorByline.hbs, media=[{narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/29/f8/02a66e2347d6b4cd2b2fa0d55b68/kylewilliams-121124-6.JPG, width=6000, height=4000}, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/29/f8/02a66e2347d6b4cd2b2fa0d55b68/kylewilliams-121124-6.JPG, width=6000, height=4000}, ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, alt=KYLEWILLIAMS-121124-6.JPG}], bio=[{items=[Kyle Williams covers sports for the Chicago Sun-Times.]}], authorPageUrl=https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/kyle-williams}], url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/03/23/opening-day-to-no-2-white-sox-sean-burke-entering-pivotal-second-season, target=null, primaryMediaType=null, wordCount=592, ampLink=null, anchorId=promo-c60000, audio=[], title=White Sox pitcher Sean Burke entering pivotal second season, audioDuration=null, media=[{ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/73/8c/ec7878d64686ab4a5a9aa2167175/2261291708-1.jpg, width=4953, height=3302}, alt=Sean Burke of the Chicago White Sox throws during spring training workouts at Camelback Ranch on February 12, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. , image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/73/8c/ec7878d64686ab4a5a9aa2167175/2261291708-1.jpg, width=4953, height=3302}}], _template=/page/promo/PagePromo.hbs}, {type=Image, publishDate=March 22, 2026 11:12 PM, _styledTemplate=null, timestamp=1774239140000, imageAlignment=null, categoryUrl=https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox, isFeatured=false, category=[{items=[White Sox]}], target=null, primaryMediaType=null, authors=[{name=[{items=[Kyle Williams]}], media=[{narrowImage={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/29/f8/02a66e2347d6b4cd2b2fa0d55b68/kylewilliams-121124-6.JPG, width=6000, height=4000}, image={src=https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/29/f8/02a66e2347d6b4cd2b2fa0d55b68/kylewilliams-121124-6.JPG, width=6000, height=4000}, ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/image/Image.hbs, alt=KYLEWILLIAMS-121124-6.JPG}], ampLink=null, _styledTemplate=null, _template=/author/byline/AuthorByline.hbs, jobTitle=[{items=[Sports reporter, Report for America]}], bio=[{items=[Kyle Williams covers sports for the Chicago Sun-Times.]}], authorPageUrl=https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/kyle-williams}], title=White Sox' Miguel Vargas setting the bar high in Year 2: 'He's talked about winning a Gold Glove', description=[{items=[After finding some success at the plate following a mechanical change last season, Vargas has been working on his defense this spring. 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containerTitleFont=font-2, listBorderColor=#dfdfdf, defaultArticleLeadStyle=standard, title=Latest on the White sox, _parentFiles=[/page/list/includes/PageList-header.hbs]}\">Latest on the White sox</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class=\"PageListL-items\" data-with-borders> <div class=\"PageListL-items-item\"> <div class=\"PagePromoB\"> <div class=\"PagePromoB-content\"> <div class=\"PagePromo-title\"> <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/03/23/opening-day-to-no-2-white-sox-sean-burke-entering-pivotal-second-season\" >White Sox pitcher Sean Burke entering pivotal second season</a> </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-description\">Burke had a turbulent season in 2025 that saw him go from Opening Day starter to Triple A. </div> <div class=\"PagePromo-byline\"><div class=\"PagePromo-date\"> <bsp-timestamp data-timestamp=1774299258000 data-promo=\"true\"> <template data-date-tpl>[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]</template> <span 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  "title": "White Sox pitcher Sean Burke entering pivotal second season",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-23T21:38:50.287Z"
}