Alec Michael Burleson (born November 25, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).
| Alec Burleson | |
|---|---|
 Burleson in 2022 with the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| St. Louis Cardinals – No. 41 | |
| Outfielder / First baseman | |
| Born: November 25, 1998 Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 8, 2022, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Batting average | .256 |
| Home runs | 30 |
| Runs batted in | 117 |
| Teams | |
| |
Amateur career
editBurleson attended East Lincoln High School in Denver, North Carolina. As a junior in 2016, he hit .390 with six home runs alongside pitching to a 0.83 ERA.[1] In 2017, his senior year, he batted .429 with three home runs, nine doubles and 23 RBIs and was named the Southern District 7 2A Offensive Player of the Year.[2] He went undrafted in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, and enrolled at East Carolina University where he played college baseball.[3]
As a freshman at East Carolina in 2018, Burleson batted .252 with 18 RBIs over 36 games and 103 at-bats alongside pitching 54 innings, going 5–2 with a 3.33 ERA and four saves.[4] He was named the American Athletic Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Year.[5] That summer, he played in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League for the Bethesda Big Train.[6] In 2019, his sophomore season, he hit .370 with nine home runs and 61 RBIs, and pitched to a 6–2 record and 3.28 ERA over 60+1⁄3 innings.[7][8] He was named to the AAC First Team as an outfielder, and to the Second Team as a utility player.[9] Over the summer, he played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and also made a brief appearance in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Bourne Braves.[10][11][12] In 2020, his junior season, Burleson hit .375 with three home runs and 12 RBIs over 17 games, alongside pitching to a 4.24 ERA over four starts, before the college baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] Over his collegiate career, Burleson started games at first base, left field, right field, designated hitter, and as a pitcher.[14]
Professional career
editAfter the season, Burleson was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals as an outfielder in the second round (70th overall) of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.[15][16][17] He signed for $700,000.[18] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 because the season was cancelled.[19] To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Peoria Chiefs of the High-A Central.[20] He was quickly promoted to the Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Central, and was then promoted to the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A East in early August.[21][22] Burleson ended the 2021 season with a combined .270/.329/.454 slash line with 22 home runs and 76 RBIs over 119 games between the three clubs.[23]
Burleson returned to Memphis to begin the 2022 season.[24] Over 109 games, he slashed .331/.372/.532 with 20 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 25 doubles.[25]
On September 6, 2022, the Cardinals selected Burleson's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[26] He made his MLB debut on September 8 as the club's starting right fielder, going hitless over four at-bats with a walk in an 11–6 loss to the Washington Nationals.[27] He collected his first MLB hit on September 11, a single off Duane Underwood Jr. of the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 4–3 St. Louis win.[28] He hit his first MLB home run on September 23 off of Hanser Alberto of the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in an 11–0 Cardinals win.[29] Over 48 at-bats in 16 games with the Cardinals in 2022, he hit .188 with one home run, three RBIs, and one double.[30]
Burleson spent the entirety of the 2023 season with St. Louis and appeared in 107 games, batting .244 with eight home runs and 36 RBIs.[31] He broke his thumb in September, ending his season early.[32] He spent time in left field, right field, first base, and as a designated hitter.[33]
References
edit- ^ "Burleson re-writes history | Lake Norman Publications". August 5, 2016.
- ^ "SD7 baseball and softball all conference: Jessica Adams, Alec Burleson take offensive awards".
- ^ "East Lincoln's Burleson faces uncertainty after joining Cardinals in MLB Draft | Lake Norman Publications". June 17, 2020.
- ^ Walker, Richard. "Hometown heroes: 2018 College baseball review". Gaston Gazette.
- ^ "ECU's Packard named AAC baseball Player of the Year". May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Cal Ripken League top prospects". Perfect Game.
- ^ "Alec Burleson thankful for time at ECU as he turns pro".
- ^ "Ten players to watch in college baseball in 2020". February 13, 2020.
- ^ "Tulane's Hoese Named Baseball Player of the Year". July 14, 2024.
- ^ "Alec Burleson". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ "ECU's Burleson named to Collegiate National Team roster". July 2, 2019.
- ^ "Braves Out at Home Against Brewster". June 19, 2019.
- ^ Hummel, Rick (June 14, 2020). "Meet the 2020 draft picks for the Cardinals". STLtoday.com.
- ^ Healy, Joe (April 10, 2020). "Self-Made Star Alec Burleson Does it All For East Carolina". www.baseballamerica.com.
- ^ Hughes, Joe. "East Lincoln product Burleson hits big time, taken in MLB Draft". Gaston Gazette.
- ^ "ECU's Alec Burleson drafted 70th overall by the Cardinals".
- ^ Reflector, The Daily (June 11, 2020). "Cardinals pick another Pirate in Burleson". dailyadvance.com.
- ^ "Cardinals sign Draft picks Burleson, Jones". MLB.com.
- ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
- ^ "Meet the 2021 Peoria Chiefs baseball team. Here's the list".
- ^ "Peoria Chiefs rewind: Player promotion, top performances and walkoffs at Dozer Park".
- ^ "Cards promote Burleson to Memphis". August 2, 2021.
- ^ "Cardinals top prospects expectations for 2022". MLB.com.
- ^ "Pipeline isn't loaded, but several top-end prospects could help the Cardinals soon". April 3, 2022.
- ^ "What to expect from Alec Burleson". MLB.com.
- ^ "First Pitch: Cardinals call up No. 5 prospect Alec Burleson, place Dylan Carlson on IL". September 7, 2022.
- ^ "Denver's Alec Burleson making Major League debut for Cardinals - Lake Norman Publications". September 8, 2022.
- ^ "Alec Burleson's first career hit | 09/11/2022". MLB.com.
- ^ Gullickson, Eric (September 24, 2022). "Former ECU baseball star Burleson hits first career MLB home run". www.witn.com.
- ^ "Alec Burleson Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
- ^ "Alec Burleson attempts a transformation to become a viable outfield option for Cardinals". January 14, 2024.
- ^ "Moments after another breakthrough, Cardinals rookie Alec Burleson breaks thumb, ends season". September 20, 2023.
- ^ "Injuries, hitter regression mean frustrating season for Cardinals: Gordon's final grades". October 4, 2023.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet