Corbin Burnes to start 2nd game against Cubs, replacing Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson was in line to start the Brewers’ second game of the season against the Chicago Cubs, but a blister is causing the Brewers to reshuffle their starting rotation plans.

Pitching coach Chris Hook tells Tom Haudricourt that with Anderson missing the start, Corbin Burnes will step into that spot in the rotation for the time being.

Burnes has generated some excitement after showing more movement on his pitches after extensive offseason work at the organization’s pitching lab and a renewed focus on his secondary pitches, including his plus-slider.

We’ve seen Burnes show flashes of potential in the rotation, racking up strikeouts early last season, but his tendency to work heavily inside the zone and his lack of command inside the zone (combined with last season’s Super Ball baseball) led to near-historic home run numbers. That included 3 home runs allowed against the Cubs in his second career start last April in an outing that saw him give up 7 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings.

The Brewers seem to like the improvements they’ve seen so far this year between spring training and summer camp, though, and Burnes’ secondary pitches would seem to set him up better for success in the rotation than someone like Freddy Peralta. Peralta, meanwhile, was the one to get the longterm contract from the Brewers this offseason and could be in line for a rotation spot himself with Eric Lauer missing the start of the season.

It’ll be a tough matchup for Burnes in his first start, as the Cubs have announced Yu Darvish will make that start for them on Saturday.