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To the Brewers’ pitcher, strikeouts are a state of mind.

In any physically or mentally intensive activity, there is a certain threshold commonly known as “the Zone.” When this threshold is passed, all other inconsequential matters fall away; all that exists is you and the game. Athletes enter the Zone on a fairly regular basis, but for Corbin Burnes, star pitcher of the Milwaukee Brewers, it’s almost his default state.

“If you get to 3-0 and you’re going, ‘Oh, I don’t want to walk this guy,’ you’re already hosed,” Burnes said recently about striking out batters. “At that point you’ve already walked the guy.”

Burnes is currently one of the hottest pitchers in MLB, successfully firing off 49 strikeouts over the course of the season, and not a single walk. This hot streak has placed him on the cusp of breaking the league’s record for most consecutive strikeouts without a walk in a starting season, currently held by Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen with 51. He could also break the record for strikeouts without a walk at any point in a season, which was set at 56 by Curt Schilling in 2002.

“I think he might be better than anything I could do on a video game right now,” Brewers reliever Devin Williams said of his teammate. “It’s kind of crazy to watch, because he has so many pitches and they’re all elite. He’s got the curveball, slider, cutter, a changeup he’s throwing at 92. It’s kind of ridiculous, honestly. I don’t know how anyone gets a hit off that guy.”

“The velocity that he’s throwing with throughout the game is pretty incredible — the eye-popping stuff, the strike-throwing and the swings he’s getting consistently, that’s what’s been amazing,” Brewers Manager Craig Counsell said. “We’re still so early in the season and we’ve got a long, long way to go. But this didn’t come out of nowhere.”

For the first in over 2 weeks: Happy Corbin Burnes day! Wishing health, happiness, and joy to those who observe pic.twitter.com/yFN4DR7XD3

— Josh Waldoch (@joshwaldoch) May 13, 2021

Burnes was originally hoping to break these records earlier, but an unfortunate run-in with COVID-19 had him benched for a while. Luckily, he was asymptomatic, so the disease has not negatively impacted his overall health. Now that he’s feeling better, he’s back to throwing firecrackers, and it looks like he won’t be stopping any time soon.