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I would have guessed he had more looks than that. He’s collected 400 PA’s in the Big Leagues and should add close to 200 more by the time June rolls around. He has to be amped up knowing that he’s going to get his chances.
In a clutch RBI situation I would take Goldschmidt, Contreras and I am tempted to say Walker.
Burleson doesn’t strike out much, but makes a lot of weak contact, as evidenced by the low BABiP. The .690 OPS doesn’t work as a clutch hitter. I would also take Donovan and Noot ahead of
Burleson.All that said, if Burly is in the lineup regularly for the first couple months, I will be real interested to see what happens. If his results are substantially different than they have been, then the role he qualifies for would change.
Walker’s been almost unmentioned in comparison to this time last year. It’ll be fun seeing what all the young kids do this season. Walker, Winn, Gorman etc. Maybe they’ll provide some hope.
Burleson is an interesting case. He was really rushed through the system. Drafted in 2020, so he missed his first summer of pro development. In 2021, his first pro season, he was rushed from Peoria to Springfield to Memphis.
Finally in 2022 he was allowed to settle into one spot, Memphis, for most of the season and slashed .331/.372/.532/.905. Hit 20 home runs and drove in 87 in only 109 games and 470 PAs.
He was in and out of the lineup with the Cardinals in 2023, with only 377 PAs, so there was no consistency.
IMHO, all of that needs to be taken into consideration.
It would be nice if Burleson quit slapping at pitches deep in the zone. It prevents strikeouts but Results in weak contact.
For a big guy, with no true position, he needs to drive the ball to stay in the Majors very long.
He does have offensive ability. Would like to see some power out of his bat. Hope he has a good year.
Interesting, Wally! Could you please provide some details on why you think that? Thank you very much in advance.
Hey “Wally Butterworth”, I would also appreciate your detailed reasoning outlining your thoughts on Burleson’s success.
His numbers and profile to date just don’t suggest that he out hits many Cards starters…..
Fill us in with all the specifics!
Thanks
wally, ya think Oli will start Burleson against LHP? He’s been hanging in there pretty good versus lefties. Burleson has been one of the top, if not the top Cardinal hitter, in spring training.
Shady – We sure would appreciate some more detail also from you when you make a generalization. It would be very, very helpful. Thank you.
Check the current Cardinals Spring Training hitting stats. They seem to support my claim. Do they not?
Shady – Most of the posters on here for years have posted stats to back up their statements and opinions. We sure would appreciate it if you would do the same. Thank you very much!
I happened to notice that Paul DeJong is second behind Freddie Freeman for most ST’ing RBI’s with 13 of them. Looks like we gave up on him too soon…
bccran. respectfully, you are nitpicking. Please let other posters simply express their opinions regarding Cardinals baseball. It doesn’t have to be so complicated. Simply put, let other posters simply have some fun discussing Cardinals baseball. Without making it complex. I hope the mods agree.
Shady, since you asked, I will offer my opinion, not as a mod, but as another poster. It would be great if you could support your views with more than opinion. That makes for far better dialogue than “because that’s how I see it”. But you are certainly not the only poster here to take this kind of approach. You have what you have to offer…
bccran, my advice is to not ask the same question repeatedly because you probably aren’t going to get the answer you seek. Better to bypass the particular discussion in question and focus attention elsewhere.
You’re right, Brian. But the point I was making was with good intent. I think Burleson is going to have a good year too. I just wanted to hear why another poster felt the same. I’ve gone into some detail about the low K rate, how he goes to all fields as he makes repeated contact, has decent plate discipline, etc., and I would be interested if there are any other reasons from another poster who’s high on him. That’s why I kept asking.
I think Lynn is going to have a good year too, because he’s motivated coming back to his original team and will enjoy some synergism pitching with Gray, Gibson, and Mikolas. I’d like to hear what others think.
Over the years, I’ve been frustrated by the propensity that many Cardinals hitters have had for striking out. Striking out is a rarity with Burleson. As a Cardinals fan, I find that refreshing.
I just want to add something to this conversation. I read darn near every comment on TCN and I see ST stats as a “source” for arguments’s sake. I don’t mind those providing every ST stat imaginable but I just skip over them.
Just as an example…. Carlson hits 2 HRs and some think that there is some stat to back that up as a reason to believe it will carryover into the season. I hope it does because we can sorely need a better season out of him… but that isn’t always the case. Is Baez going to lead his league in power #s because of his 455er? He may but realistically not so…. and you all know that. I doubt that the FO puts too much faith in ST numbers. The organizational people at ST look at performance a lot differently than most fans. But fans want something to go on… to follow…. and some go to the stats that are available. I don’t dis them I just think that its really not the sensible way to go to evaluate players.
The fact is that some players will over-perform their expectations and some will under-perform. That’s how it is. You have to play the games. That’s what baseball is all about. That’s the intrigue and attraction to the sport. If you just crunch the #s and expect that that is the way the season will play out….. you might as well just give the trophy to LAD or ATL right now. Nothing offensive intended here.
Better the 8-ball. 🙂
Burleson has tremendous bat control. However, sometimes the issue is that he does swing and hit the ball (rather than miss) because he often swings outside the zone and makes poor contact. This limits his strikeouts but doesn’t improve his success a whole lot. Yes, I’d generally rather have a ball put in play. But it would be a whole lot better if he’d just swing mostly at balls he can hit well.
Burleson does have some soft contact. But he also has his share of hard contact, as well. Much like many other hitters. He’s going to be fine. I’d just like more home runs from him. I think he can.
I am not aware of when “soft contact” is ever good.
Unless you are Vince Coleman or Bake McBride on Busch II AstroTurf.
Hopeful but not confident that he can contribute. If so, doubt it will be at a position, so he needs to start driving the ball.
Strange about soft contact. That soft contact produced 32 doubles, 24 home runs, and 109 RBI at AAA in 154 games.
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