Burnes hit that level of pitcher in 2021 but he was trending down by the time we traded him.
This was Burnes in the 2 years before the trade - 75 ERA-, 83 FIP-, 79 xFIP-, 21% K-BB
This is Skubal in the last 1.5 years before the trade - 57 ERA-, 60 ERA-, 61 FIP-, 28% K-BB
Burnes peak was in that Skubal range. In 2020 and 2021 Burnes was 55 ERA-, 40 FIP-, 57 xFIP-, 29% K-BB. If Burnes had kept up that level in 2022 and 2023 he would have gotten us a much bigger haul.