ATL

Jake Burger, IF

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Scouting report

Because of the pandemic, Burger was facing a third consecutive season without regular reps following two lost to a myriad of severe heel injuries (including two Achilles ruptures) and instead played for the Normal CornBelters in a makeshift league put together after COVID squashed the usual summer wood bat festivities in the Midwest. Burger's play and Chicago's late-summer 60-man pool space enabled them to roster him at the alternate site toward the end of the season before he went to instructs in the Fall. He's leaner and more mobile than scouts anticipated, evidence of the work he put in during his unthinkable series of misfortunes. The Sox added him to the 40-man in November. While his story of perseverance is remarkable, and all of baseball is rooting for the guy, who seems like an affable and funny young man, he's unlikely to make a long-term big league impact. I was on the low end of projecting Burger while he was in college, skeptical of his ability to play third even before all the injuries. Now, his swing path is also a bit of an issue. He should be given an opportunity to claim that bench power bat spot but I think others in the org are more likely to do so. (CarShield Collegiate League, alternate site, Fall Instructional League)