About the only thing to keep ECU baseball alum Alec Burleson out of the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup lately is an injury.
He missed Friday’s game with the Tampa Bay Rays with a wrist injury he sustained in Thursday’s game. Lars Nootbaar started in the outfield in his place.
Burleson, who is considered day-to-day, has been having a strong season, batting .285 with a career-high .786 OPS, 15 home runs, 59 RBI, 43 runs and five stolen bases in 117 games.
SI.com reports that Burleson’s play this season is causing the team to consider locking him up to a long-term contract. A story by Patrick McCoy points out that “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.”
Photo credit: Alec Burleson (AP photo)
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