Alec Burleson named NL Player of the Week
The Cardinal Chronicle
Alec Burleson Named National League Player of the Week
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Alec Burleson has never been the kind of player who needed a spotlight to find his way into the heart of a game. The 25-year-old first baseman approaches each contest with a quiet diligence, his broad-shouldered frame and unhurried gait camouflaging the intensity that defines his at-bats. Teammates describe him as unflappable, a grinder who studies pitchers with the focus of a chess master, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike.
This past week, the spotlight found him anyway.
Burleson was named the National League Player of the Week on Monday after a seven-game stretch that helped carry the Cardinals through one of their best runs of the young season. The St. Louis first baseman hit .407, going 11-for-27 with two home runs, three doubles, 11 RBIs, eight runs scored, four walks, a .484 on-base percentage, and a .741 slugging percentage. It was the first weekly honor of Burleson’s major-league career and the first for a Cardinal since Nolan Gorman won the award on May 22, 2023.
That is the headline.
The better story is how he earned it.
Burleson did not win the award with one loud night and a quiet week around it. He stacked at-bats. He produced in big innings. He kept the line moving. He drove in runs in six consecutive games and had three straight multi-RBI games during the Cardinals’ four-game sweep in Pittsburgh. For a club trying to prove that its early-season success has some staying power, Burleson gave the middle of the order exactly what it needed: steady damage.
His week began not with fireworks, but with one of those gritty, understated at-bats that rarely grab headlines but change ballgames. On a damp Monday night at PNC Park, the Cardinals were being no-hit deep into the seventh inning. With two outs, Burleson stepped to the plate, worked the count, and shot a clean single to right field, breaking up Pittsburgh’s perfect-game bid. That single ignited the dugout and shifted the momentum, setting the stage for St. Louis to rally in the ninth for a 4-2 win—a victory that proved to be a turning point in the team’s road trip.
From there, Burleson did not cool off.
In the four-game series against the Pirates, Burleson became a fixture at the plate, racking up eight hits and eight RBIs. According to MLB, he became the first Cardinal to notch at least eight hits and eight RBIs in a single series since Paul Goldschmidt, who accomplished the feat with 10 hits and nine RBIs in a four-game set against Pittsburgh during his 2022 National League MVP campaign.
Burleson’s performance was also the first time a Cardinal had posted such numbers on the road since Tommy Edman collected nine hits and nine RBIs at PNC Park in August 2021.
That is not just a hot week. That is a player putting his fingerprints on a series.
The Cardinals needed every bit of Burleson’s production. St. Louis was navigating the grueling gauntlet of 17 games in 17 days—a stretch that tests not just talent, but the depth, resilience, and grit of a roster. Fatigue crept into the clubhouse, and lineups fluctuated as starters sought to catch their breath.
Through it all, Burleson’s steady left-handed bat became a constant, delivering timely hits and driving in runs when the team needed them most. His ability to grind through tough at-bats set the tone for a lineup determined to withstand the relentless pace of the early season.
He also had company. Jordan Walker was listed among the other notable National League performers after hitting .393 with two home runs, 11 RBIs, six runs scored, and two stolen bases. Iván Herrera also drew mention after reaching base at a .469 clip and scoring 10 runs.
That matters because Burleson’s week was not an isolated spark. It was part of a broader offensive surge from a Cardinals lineup that has started to look less like a collection of young players trying to survive and more like a group beginning to understand how to win together.
Still, Burleson stood above the group.
He tied for the major-league lead in RBIs for the week, tied for second in runs scored, and tied for third in hits and total bases. He also leads the Cardinals with 12 multi-hit games this season, matching Walker with three games of at least three hits.
Burleson’s value is most apparent to those who watch every pitch, not just the highlight reels. There is nothing showy about his approach—no bat flips, no grandstanding, just a relentless focus on the task at hand. He sprays line drives to all fields, turning tough pitches into base hits and grinding out plate appearances with a veteran’s patience. When he finds his rhythm, he can quietly string together game-changing performances, carrying a lineup on his shoulders with little fanfare.
That has always been part of Burleson’s appeal.
He was a second-round pick by the Cardinals in 2020 out of East Carolina, and his bat has always been the carrying tool. In the minors, he hit his way to St. Louis. In the majors, he has had to earn his role the hard way, moving between first base, the outfield, and designated hitter duties while working to become more than just a left-handed bat on the roster.
Now, weeks like this show why the Cardinals have stayed with him.
Burleson’s award also came on a day when another Cardinal was recognized. Rookie outfielder Nathan Church earned MLB’s Play of the Week for his game-saving leaping catch at the wall on April 29 in Pittsburgh, robbing Nick Gonzales of a potential walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth.
That is a pretty good Monday for the Cardinals: one player honored for swinging the bat, another for saving a game with his glove.
For Burleson, though, this honor feels like more than a weekly plaque. It is a marker in a season where the Cardinals are asking their young core and emerging regulars to stop being future pieces and start being answers.
This week, Alec Burleson answered.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports
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