What's At Stake For Alec Burleson In Regular Season's Final Week

Though the St. Louis Cardinals were eliminated from playoff contention, there are still things at stake in the final week of the regular season.

Sep 7, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson (41) jogs to the dugout after hitting a solo home run against San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Logan Webb (not pictured) during the sixth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Even though the St. Louis Cardinals are out of playoff contention, they still have a few things to play for in the final week of the regular season.

The Cardinals' success has come as a complete surprise this season, especially after entering a full-scale rebuild. St. Louis has prioritized player development since the offseason, trading away multiple veteran stars to build up its farm system, which has given multiple young players the chance to shine.

Though Jordan Walker has received a lot of publicity for his breakout year and reaching 100 RBIs this season, teammate Alec Burleson leads the MLB with 111 RBIs with just six games remaining in the regular season.

This week could be make or break for Burleson

Sep 14, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson (41) hits a single against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Burleson, 27, has spent his entire five-season career with the Cardinals and is under team control through the 2028 season. The left-handed slugger is having the best season of his career, setting career highs with 111 runs batted in and 23 home runs while slashing .282/.347/.466. If he holds his league lead in RBIs during the last week of the season, he's in line to make some impressive Cardinals history.

"Alec Burleson leads the Majors with 111 RBIs, putting him in line for some impressive Cardinals history," MLB.com's Brent Maguire wrote on Sunday. "He’s looking to become the first Cardinal to lead the National League since Albert Pujols in 2010 and the first to lead the Majors in the category since Joe Torre drove in 137 runs in 1971. His stiffest competition is Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart, who sits at 110 RBIs entering the final week."

Pujols and Torre are both in the Hall of Fame, so joining them by leading the National League in runs batted in would be an extremely impressive feat for Burleson. This season has gone far better for St. Louis than ever anticipated, and one benefit of how well the Cardinals have played is that they have a better idea of who to build around. Burleson clearly should be one of those players.

The Cardinals close out the season with a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and a difficult matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers, who are also chasing history and are nearing their first 100-win season. With Stewart only one RBI behind Burleson for the league lead, seeing if the 27-year-old can keep up the momentum to secure the impressive feat in the final week of the regular season.