Alec Burleson DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Alec Burleson will take a seat on the bench to start Saturday's contest at Busch Stadium against the Philadelphia Phillies with a left-hander on the mound. Luken Baker will get the start at designated hitter and will bat second against Phillies lefty Cristopher Sanchez. Burleson is hitting .286 (12-for-42) early on with five RBI and five runs scored and is currently on a five-game hitting streak, but the Cards will give him a break on Saturday against a left-hander that has been stingy so far in 2025. Despite Burleson's hot early-season hitting, he has yet to clear the fences for his fantasy managers. Baker is also in search of his first long ball on Saturday and is hitting a strong .286 (4-for-14) with a double, two RBI and a run scored in his eight games played as a reserve. Baker has never faced Sanchez in his career.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Alec Burleson went 3-for-4 with two singles and a long ball with two RBI on Saturday evening. Burleson launched his 21st round-tripper of the campaign in the third inning which scored shortstop Masyn Winn. Entering this game, the 25-year-old carried a .233/.250/.395 over his previous 11 games and will now carry some momentum into Sunday's series finale. Overall, Burleson is on pace to have a career season, holding an overall .278/.311/.465 line. Under the hood, he carries an above-average 40.8% hard-hit rate and a stellar 13.1% K rate. While the East Carolina product will occasionally sit against southpaws, he should remain in most lineups going forward and will be worth a look in favorable DFS matchups.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Alec Burleson will head to the bench on Monday for the series opener against the hosting division-rival Cincinnati Reds with a left-handed pitcher on the mound. Burleson will get a day of rest after starting each of the team's last nine games. Jordan Walker will play right field and bat seventh in his return to the big-league team, while catcher Willson Contreras will serve as the designated hitter and bat second against Reds lefty Andrew Abbott. Pedro Pages is catching and batting eighth. Burleson is having a breakout campaign in 2024 in his second full season, slashing .277/.311/.463 with a .774 OPS, 20 home runs, 67 RBI and seven steals in 110 games. However, he's hit just .205 (24-for-117) with three of his 20 homers against lefties on the year. The return of Walker could mean that Burleson finds his way to the bench more often against southpaws.