On the opening night of the season for the Chattanooga Lookouts, touted reliever Nick Burdi allowed four walks and a single in the ninth inning as a 3-0 lead in Montgomery turned into a 4-3 loss.
It’s been that kind of start for some of the top prospects for the Minnesota Twins who have begun this season at the Double-A level.
Burdi, the No. 7 organizational prospect according to Baseball America, had an 0-1 record and a 54.00 earned run average after his April 9 debacle. He has regrouped somewhat and is now 1-2 with a 7.50 ERA but has been hampered by nine walks allowed in six innings of work.
“Nick was just behind at the start of the season,” Lookouts manager Doug Mientkiewicz said. “He missed a lot of spring training and had a pretty bad cut on his shin. I take the blame for probably throwing him out there too soon, but he’s going to be one of our horses, and we had to get him out there and get him some innings.
“He’s having to work through it. I had him last year, and his first outing is always his worst one for some reason, but we’re going to need him a lot in these next couple of months.”