Burgmann: The Comeback Kid
February 05, 2019 | Baseball
Pitcher Josh Burgmann arrived on campus at Washington in 2016 with big expectations. After being drafted in the 30th round of the MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, the right-hander from Nanaimo, B.C. planned on being a major force on the mound right away for the Huskies. Unfortunately, an arm injury cut short his first year and forced him to miss the early part of his second season before he finally made a triumphant return during Pac-12 play in 2018. Once again healthy and having regained his full confidence, Burgmann is poised to make a huge comeback on the hill and help the Huskies make another push to Omaha in 2019.
Q: How close to 100 percent do you feel since your arm surgery?
Josh Burgmann: It's been a year and a half since the surgery, and I feel great physically. I lost about 20 pounds over the summer to get in better shape and come back even stronger. I feel awesome and I'm ready to go. I'm ready to take over that starting role that I wanted as a freshman and I couldn't be happier to be doing that this year. With the group of guys that we have now, I'm super excited to get back out there.
Q: How frustrating was it to have to watch from the sidelines for about a year?
Burgmann: It was hard, especially the first year when we were struggling in the second half when I thought I could really help the team. It was hard when I was just coming off the surgery and in the sling. It was even harder last year when everything started to feel good and I started throwing bullpens, but I had to wait to give it more time. Once my time came, it was an unforgettable feeling. I was happy to come back when I did because that is when we started to take off as a team.
Q: You made your return in Corvallis at No. 1 Oregon State. I guess when it was time to return, it might as well be against the No. 1 team.
Burgmann: Yeah, it was pretty crazy. They talk about Corvallis as being one of the best places to play college baseball and it was an amazing environment, so I was definitely thrown into the fire. It was a very cool experience for me, and I honestly would not have wanted it any other way. I love being in the big situations, so it was definitely a cool experience.
Q: How long did it take you to feel 100 percent comfortable on the mound again to where you weren't worried about unleashing everything?
Burgmann: Last year was more of a feeling-out process. It wasn't necessarily that I didn't feel good. I felt good enough to go out on the mound, and maybe I wasn't completely polished, but I felt good enough to compete and to get guys out at this level. Towards the end of the season I got a little more fatigued, so I took the summer off. But as soon as I came back in the fall and started throwing, everything really started feel like it was clicking. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to show people what I've got this year, especially in that starting role.
Q: Have you seen an uptick in your velocity since the surgery?
Burgmann: In terms of consistent velo, it has been better. I haven't really unleashed anything this year. I'm kind of hoping the best is yet to come. Maybe when we go down into hotter weather we'll see. I'm really excited for when that happens.
Q: How much fun was it for you to participate in the post-season last year?
Burgmann: It was an unbelievable experience. There's nothing like it. Everything I have worked towards as a college baseball player, you want to be in those situations. It was an invaluable experience, especially considering what we're trying to build here. It was just an amazing experience.
Q: Since you missed so much time, how much more do you appreciate being able to play baseball?
Burgmann: Baseball is definitely at the forefront of my mind. This game is my life and I want to work hard at everything I do around baseball. The surgery has taught me how hard I need to work, day in and day out, to get into the position I want to be in, which is to play in the big leagues one day. I think I've taken that into account. I'm no longer going through rehab, it's an everyday part of my life. I know I need to get ready in a different way. I've got to make sure I lift in a different way. It's really helped me in my game and my preparation to get ready.
Q: Your role this season seems destined to be as a starter. How has that helped your confidence this pre-season?
Burgmann: I love it. I love starting. I've done it my entire high school career and my whole life really. Coming here as a freshman, I expected to start. Things didn't go the way that we thought, but that's okay. I'm super excited for this year. I'm going to bring the same mentality to the mound that I did out of the bullpen. I'm going to be aggressive – a bulldog – and pitch the way I pitch. It's going to be a different role, but I'm super excited for it.
Q: You guys went to the College World Series last year, but it seems like most polls have you outside their pre-season top-25. Are you guys going to come into this season with a little chip on your shoulder?
Burgmann: In a way we've taken notice to it. Yeah, guys are going to play with a chip on their shoulders, but at the same time we're going to focus on what makes us successful. At the end of the day, we're not going to worry about that kind of stuff. We're going to worry about the guys in the locker room and how we're doing our jobs day in and day out in order to help us win.
Q: Give an assessment of the pitching staff and why Husky fans should be excited for the upcoming season?
Burgmann: Some guys this year have taken some big leaps. Everyone on our pitching staff has gotten better in some way, shape or form, whether that's fastball velocity, command improvement on a pitch, or adding a pitch. I think this year we've got a little bit more velo in the back end of the bullpen, which is going to be huge. I think this staff is going to be dominant this year and I think we're going to do some great things.
Q: Have you added a pitch to your repertoire?
Burgmann: I've incorporated the curveball, so I'm throwing five pitches now. That's going to be huge, especially when I'm starting and trying to get through seven innings. I've got to be able mix up my looks, so I think that's going to be a huge pitch for me this year.
Q: As one of three Canadians from British Columbia on the team, what do you think attracts players from up north down to Washington?
Burgmann: For British Columbians, it's a nice thing to be so close to home. It's very similar weather wise, I think guys are really comfortable with that. They do a great job here of making us all feel welcome. We almost don't feel Canadian down here. We just feel a part of the team. It's a great experience and I welcome all kids from Canada to come here because there is no better place to be in college baseball than right here.
Q: Give us a Josh Burgmann scouting report on your fellow Canadians, sophomore Jack DeCooman (North Vancouver, B.C.) and freshman David Rhodes (White Rock, B.C.)?
Burgmann: Jack's a crafty lefty. You're going to see a little bit of a velocity uptick with him this year. He's hoping to start, so we'll see what happens there. He's a good left-handed pitcher with good fastball command and if he can mix in the breaking ball and change, he's going to be a dominant pitcher at this level. Because he's got a little bit of deception going with his delivery and he's such a tall kid, he's got a lot of downhill plane with the fastball.
David is just a big-time competitor. He kind of reminds me of Noah Bremer from my first year here. He's that good. He's going to play a role, in some way, shape or form this year, and it's going to be a key role. We're going to have to rely on him a lot, especially for a freshman. He's going to throw his fastball a lot and he's going to throw a breaking ball. He's going to win based on his competitiveness on the mound.
Q: How close to 100 percent do you feel since your arm surgery?
Josh Burgmann: It's been a year and a half since the surgery, and I feel great physically. I lost about 20 pounds over the summer to get in better shape and come back even stronger. I feel awesome and I'm ready to go. I'm ready to take over that starting role that I wanted as a freshman and I couldn't be happier to be doing that this year. With the group of guys that we have now, I'm super excited to get back out there.
Q: How frustrating was it to have to watch from the sidelines for about a year?
Burgmann: It was hard, especially the first year when we were struggling in the second half when I thought I could really help the team. It was hard when I was just coming off the surgery and in the sling. It was even harder last year when everything started to feel good and I started throwing bullpens, but I had to wait to give it more time. Once my time came, it was an unforgettable feeling. I was happy to come back when I did because that is when we started to take off as a team.
Q: You made your return in Corvallis at No. 1 Oregon State. I guess when it was time to return, it might as well be against the No. 1 team.
Burgmann: Yeah, it was pretty crazy. They talk about Corvallis as being one of the best places to play college baseball and it was an amazing environment, so I was definitely thrown into the fire. It was a very cool experience for me, and I honestly would not have wanted it any other way. I love being in the big situations, so it was definitely a cool experience.
Q: How long did it take you to feel 100 percent comfortable on the mound again to where you weren't worried about unleashing everything?
Burgmann: Last year was more of a feeling-out process. It wasn't necessarily that I didn't feel good. I felt good enough to go out on the mound, and maybe I wasn't completely polished, but I felt good enough to compete and to get guys out at this level. Towards the end of the season I got a little more fatigued, so I took the summer off. But as soon as I came back in the fall and started throwing, everything really started feel like it was clicking. I'm ready to go. I'm ready to show people what I've got this year, especially in that starting role.
Q: Have you seen an uptick in your velocity since the surgery?
Burgmann: In terms of consistent velo, it has been better. I haven't really unleashed anything this year. I'm kind of hoping the best is yet to come. Maybe when we go down into hotter weather we'll see. I'm really excited for when that happens.
Q: How much fun was it for you to participate in the post-season last year?
Burgmann: It was an unbelievable experience. There's nothing like it. Everything I have worked towards as a college baseball player, you want to be in those situations. It was an invaluable experience, especially considering what we're trying to build here. It was just an amazing experience.
Q: Since you missed so much time, how much more do you appreciate being able to play baseball?
Burgmann: Baseball is definitely at the forefront of my mind. This game is my life and I want to work hard at everything I do around baseball. The surgery has taught me how hard I need to work, day in and day out, to get into the position I want to be in, which is to play in the big leagues one day. I think I've taken that into account. I'm no longer going through rehab, it's an everyday part of my life. I know I need to get ready in a different way. I've got to make sure I lift in a different way. It's really helped me in my game and my preparation to get ready.
Q: Your role this season seems destined to be as a starter. How has that helped your confidence this pre-season?
Burgmann: I love it. I love starting. I've done it my entire high school career and my whole life really. Coming here as a freshman, I expected to start. Things didn't go the way that we thought, but that's okay. I'm super excited for this year. I'm going to bring the same mentality to the mound that I did out of the bullpen. I'm going to be aggressive – a bulldog – and pitch the way I pitch. It's going to be a different role, but I'm super excited for it.
Q: You guys went to the College World Series last year, but it seems like most polls have you outside their pre-season top-25. Are you guys going to come into this season with a little chip on your shoulder?
Burgmann: In a way we've taken notice to it. Yeah, guys are going to play with a chip on their shoulders, but at the same time we're going to focus on what makes us successful. At the end of the day, we're not going to worry about that kind of stuff. We're going to worry about the guys in the locker room and how we're doing our jobs day in and day out in order to help us win.
Q: Give an assessment of the pitching staff and why Husky fans should be excited for the upcoming season?
Burgmann: Some guys this year have taken some big leaps. Everyone on our pitching staff has gotten better in some way, shape or form, whether that's fastball velocity, command improvement on a pitch, or adding a pitch. I think this year we've got a little bit more velo in the back end of the bullpen, which is going to be huge. I think this staff is going to be dominant this year and I think we're going to do some great things.
Q: Have you added a pitch to your repertoire?
Burgmann: I've incorporated the curveball, so I'm throwing five pitches now. That's going to be huge, especially when I'm starting and trying to get through seven innings. I've got to be able mix up my looks, so I think that's going to be a huge pitch for me this year.
Q: As one of three Canadians from British Columbia on the team, what do you think attracts players from up north down to Washington?
Burgmann: For British Columbians, it's a nice thing to be so close to home. It's very similar weather wise, I think guys are really comfortable with that. They do a great job here of making us all feel welcome. We almost don't feel Canadian down here. We just feel a part of the team. It's a great experience and I welcome all kids from Canada to come here because there is no better place to be in college baseball than right here.
Q: Give us a Josh Burgmann scouting report on your fellow Canadians, sophomore Jack DeCooman (North Vancouver, B.C.) and freshman David Rhodes (White Rock, B.C.)?
Burgmann: Jack's a crafty lefty. You're going to see a little bit of a velocity uptick with him this year. He's hoping to start, so we'll see what happens there. He's a good left-handed pitcher with good fastball command and if he can mix in the breaking ball and change, he's going to be a dominant pitcher at this level. Because he's got a little bit of deception going with his delivery and he's such a tall kid, he's got a lot of downhill plane with the fastball.
David is just a big-time competitor. He kind of reminds me of Noah Bremer from my first year here. He's that good. He's going to play a role, in some way, shape or form this year, and it's going to be a key role. We're going to have to rely on him a lot, especially for a freshman. He's going to throw his fastball a lot and he's going to throw a breaking ball. He's going to win based on his competitiveness on the mound.
Players Mentioned
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