February 9, 2026

On a per-plate appearance basis, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman/outfielder Alec Burleson had arguably the best season of his career in 2025. Across 546 plate appearances, the 27-year-old hit .290/.343/.459 with 18 home runs, 69 RBI, 54 runs scored, and five stolen bases. Burleson upped his barrel rate from 6.5% in 2024 to 9.4% in 2025 without sacrificing much swing-and-miss, as he still struck out at just a 14.5% clip. The lefty-swinging Burleson also made significant strides against same-handed pitching, slashing a respectable .271/.310/.398 across 127 plate appearances against left-handers. While Burleson's .708 OPS against lefties in 2025 may not jump off the page, it's significantly better than his career mark of .606. His strides against left-handed pitching, as well as the Cardinals' offseason subtractions of veterans like first baseman Willson Contreras and utility man Brendan Donovan, could allow Burleson to hold a true everyday role and record his first season with more than 600 plate appearances in 2026. Burleson is unlikely to provide elite production in any one traditional rotisserie scoring fantasy category. However, he qualifies at both first base and outfield and could provide above-average outputs everywhere other than stolen bases. With an average draft position of pick 184, Burleson profiles as a potentially undervalued source of batting average and counting stats in 2026.--Will Brady
Source: RotoBaller