The White Sox improved by 19 wins from the 2024 to the 2025 season, marking significant improvement. Additionally, the White Sox played much better than a 60-102 team for most of the second half, as they had some important contributions from the rookies on the roster.
As we dissect the 2025 season, we will take a look at how each player performed, as well as their outlook for 2026 and beyond. The next player we will take a look at will be starting pitcher, Sean Burke.
Burke started out the year as the Opening Day starter, as he had a fantastic MLB debut in 2024. In 19 innings, Burke had a very good 1.42 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP, a .174 batting average against, and 22 strikeouts. This is exactly what the White Sox wanted to see out of Burke and this was part of the reason he was the Opening Day starter.
Burke’s hot start to his career carried over into 2025, as he had six scoreless innings against the Angels on Opening Day. He struck out three batters and didn’t walk any. This is exactly what the White Sox were looking for out of Burke in his first start.
Sean Burke racked up 7 K’s today so here’s every one of them 👇 pic.twitter.com/URVr912ear
— White Sox on CHSN (@CHSN_WhiteSox) August 3, 2025
After that, Burke had a tough April, as he pitched to a 7.71 ERA over 21 innings. However, Burke righted the ship in May, as he had a very solid 2.73 ERA over 33 innings. June and July were somewhere in between, as he had a 4.29 ERA in June and a 4.01 ERA in July.
After three starts in August, pitching to a 5.25 ERA over 12 innings, Burke was sent down to AAA. This was likely for a reset, as the White Sox wanted him to work through some things. Burke would make three starts for the Knights, pitching to a 7.82 ERA in 12 innings.
Burke would make his return to the White Sox on September 10th, throwing 4.1 innings of 3 run ball against the Tampa Bay Rays. Over his three starts back in Chicago, Burke pitched to a solid 3.78 ERA, showing improvement the White Sox were looking for after his time in Charlotte.
This was an interesting season for Burke, as he had a very solid 8.9 K/9, which is very good for a starter. There is no question about his stuff, as he has some highlight reel strikeouts. However, he wasn’t able to put it all together this year, as he walked 4.2 batters per nine innings and hitters were hitting .253 against him.
Burke will likely get a chance to put it all together next season, as there should be a rotation spot for him. However, if he doesn’t perform, I could see the White Sox transitioning him to the bullpen, as he has the fastball and offspeed offerings to be a very solid reliever. On the year I would grade him as a C-, as he needed to go to AAA to fix things, but the results when he returned were solid.
Burke has the makings of an ace, he just needs to put it all together on a more consistent basis. Perhaps with a new pitching coach they can unlock that and Burke can earn a spot in the rotation for the future.