Inside The Cardinals

This Might Be The Reason Behind Cardinals Slugger's Breakout

The Cardinals have some serious decisions to make...
Patrick McAvoy|
Aug 11, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Alec Burleson (41) hits a one run single against the Colorado Rockies during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Aug 11, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Alec Burleson (41) hits a one run single against the Colorado Rockies during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals talked about their "runway" players heading into the 2025 Major League Baseball seaosn and the need for evaluation.

When those conversations popped up, most of the time it was in reference to Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman. Or, at least, those are the two guys that have been talked about the most. But, over the course of the season, something shifted. This is in large part due to the play of Alec Burleson.

Burleson had a good year in 2024. He slashed .269/.314/.420 with 21 home runs, 78 RBIs, nine stolen bases, 20 doubles, and 71 runs scored in 152 games played. While this is the case, he wasn't talked about in the same way as a "runway" guy at first. As he has been given opportunities this season, though, he has made the most of them and has firmly cemented himself in the long-term conversation for this organization.

Has Alec Burleson locked up a long-term role with the Cardinals?

St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Alec Burleson
Aug 18, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Alec Burleson (41) hits an RBI single against the Miami Marlins during the fifth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Burleson has played in 117 games so far and is having a breakout year. He's slashing .285/.337/.449 with 15 home runs, 59 RBIs, five stolen bases, 20 doubles, one triple, and 43 runs scored. He needed to make some changes and has done a great job doing so. If you look under the hood at Burleson's advanced metrics, you can see clear and obvious changes. For example, Burleson is swinging at better pitches and doing damage. His chase rate dropped from 34.5 percent last year to 28.8 percent this season. In 2023, it was up at 34 percent. His zone contact rate increased from 86.5 percent to 87.6 percent.

He's making better contact and has increased his barrel rate from 6.5 percent to 9.0 percent. Unsurprisingly, his average exit velocity has increased from 89.7 miles per hour to 91.3 miles per hour. Right now, he's in the 94th percentile in squared-up rate, 90th percentile in strikeout rate, and 89th percentile in whiff rate.

All in all, he's swinging at better pitchers and making harder contact. The rest has taken care of itself.

More MLB: Cardinals Trade Update: Insider Hints At Offseason Shakeup

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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