White Sox Pitchers Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon Making Adjustments In Minor Leagues

CHICAGO –– White Sox starters Jonathan Cannon and Sean Burke had been struggling, so the team decided it was time for a change.

After allowing 18 earned runs across three starts, Cannon was optioned to Triple-A on Aug. 8, and Burke joined him on Aug. 18, following two of his shortest outings of the season.

Instead of working through their issues in the Major Leagues, pitching coach Ethan Katz explained Sunday why a stint with the Charlotte Knights could benefit Burke and Cannon.

"When you go down to the Minor Leagues," Katz said. "It gives you and opportunity to try some things that you maybe talk about up here that in the moment it's harder to accomplish because you're trying to get through an inning and you're going to stick to what you feel is best, [as opposed to] trying to open up some other avenues."

In his first start in Triple-A on Friday, Burke threw 89 pitches across five innings with eight hits, four earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts. Cannon allowed nine earned runs across 10 innings in his first two Minor League starts, but he bounced back well on Saturday with a 6.1-inning outing with just one earned run. Katz called it a nice step in the right direction for the 25-year-old right-hander.

A key aspect of what the White Sox want to Burke and Cannon to accomplish in the Minor Leagues revolves around how they pitch against left-handed hitters. Katz wants Cannon to try to pitch more up and in to lefties, which in theory would in theory would open up his changeup and breaking balls at the bottom of the zone.

Katz noticed Burke getting too fastball-curveball heavy against lefties, so he's challenging Burke to trust his changeup and use his slider more frequently. The goal with both of them is that being able to utilize a wider range of pitches would help them provide more length.

"When you're here, you've got a runner on first and second, you're having success one way," Katz said. "But to be able to pitch deeper and navigate through a lineup and get through innings the right way, you're going to have to use all four pitches, the life of a starter. So trying to get them to maximize their full arsenals."

In addition to the adjustments, their demotion could also be a source of motivation.

"I think anybody that gets sent down, it’s going to be a little bit extra hunger to get back. They were already determined to do well and get better while they were here. From our standpoint, they are great guys, who love to work, study their opponents, and they want to have a lot of success. Whether it’s here or there, I think they’ve handled it really well and they are ready to take on whatever is ahead of them."

The White Sox have just 33 games left in the 2025 season, which would mean about five or six more starts for Cannon and Burke –– whether it be in Triple-A or the Major Leagues. The current starting rotation consists of Davis Martin, Shane Smith, Martín Pérez, Aaron Civale and Yoendrys Gomez.

Pérez recently came off the injured list and replaced Cannon, and the White Sox promoted Gomez from Triple-A to help fill Burke's spot in the rotation. Active rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1, which opens the door for Burke and Cannon to return. But the White Sox are seemingly leaving all options of the table for now.

"Whether they come back up here, which we see is a very possible option, but that’s not my decision," Katz said. "We are trying to make sure everything is in order so when they do come back, the stuff they have to work on to be successful here is being worked on down there."