White Sox’ Sean Burke hopes this is his ‘worst year in the league’

CLEVELAND — White Sox right-hander Sean Burke hopes this season is the worst of his major-league career.

“This is, ideally, my worst year in the league,” he told the Sun-Times.

Burke entered this season after a strong September call-up last year, during which he posted a 1.42 ERA in four outings that covered 19 innings. After throwing a scoreless outing on Opening Day against the Angels, Burke became inconsistent.

His command became an issue as he struggled to find the strike zone and put batters away. Those lengthy at-bats ratcheted up his pitch count, leading to abbreviated starts. He had 42 strikeouts and 31 walks over April and May.

Burke adjusted and his strikeout numbers rose, but hitters’ propensity to foul off his pitches became untenable. He was continually taxing the bullpen with short starts. In three August starts, Burke never pitched more than five innings and was demoted to Triple-A Charlotte.

He said he was frustrated, but he understood because he wasn’t pitching well. The organization felt it would be better for Burke to tinker with his mechanics away from the results-oriented majors. He returned Sept. 10 and threw 4⅓ innings against the Rays, striking out five and walking four. It was minor progress.

“I tried to do the best I could of going [to Triple-A] with a positive attitude and trying to attack and get better with everything they told me to get better with,” Burke, 25, said.

Though Burke is back in the majors, it doesn’t mean he has cracked the code on getting outs.

“He’s still working on some stuff,” manager Will Venable said. “And we talked the other day: This isn’t some crossroads in his career where he’s got to go out there and give us seven no-hit innings. He’s still developing, and part of that is going to be him being athletic. We’ve seen really good fastballs from him recently, but the command of those fastballs is important, too.”

Burke must seize his opportunity over the last two weeks of the season. The Sox have just two starters they can pencil into the rotation next year — Shane Smith and Davis Martin — so this time is critical as Burke looks to finish his turbulent rookie season.

Early in the season, Burke was throwing too many noncompetitive pitches. When hitters got ahead in the count, they usually had success. When Burke is behind in the count, he’s walking hitters at a 27.8% rate, with just a 10.7% strikeout rate. He has the stuff to succeed, but it’s about harnessing it.

Burke said he has talked with Smith, who posted a 9.75 ERA over three starts heading into the All-Star break. Since then, he has posted a 2.84 ERA.

Burke has had success in the majors — he allowed only two runs in seven innings against the first-place Tigers — but consistency has eluded him.

“[I need to] understand that when I’m at my best and I’m doing what I can do, I can go out there and beat anybody,” Burke said. “So taking that mindset into it, and having the confidence that I’m able to go out there and do that [and] repeating that week in and week out over the course of the season is what separates the really great pitchers from the guys that aren’t as consistent.”