Alec Michael Burleson (born November 25, 1998) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB).

Amateur career

Burleson attended East Lincoln High School in

Denver, North Carolina Denver, formerly known as Dry Pond, is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,309. Known as “Dry Pond” until 1873, it was rena ...

. As a junior in 2016, he hit .390 with six home runs alongside pitching to a 0.83 ERA. In 2017, his senior year, he batted .429 with three home runs, nine doubles and 23 RBIs and was named the Southern District 7 2A Offensive Player of the Year. He went undrafted in the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

, and enrolled at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

. As a freshman at East Carolina in 2018, Burleson batted .252 with 18 RBIs over 36 games and 103

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

alongside pitching 54 innings, going 5–2 with a 3.33 ERA and four saves. He was named the American Athletic Conference Rookie Pitcher of the Year. That summer, he played in the

Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League The Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league located in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, metropolitan areas. The CRCBL is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NA ...

for the Bethesda Big Train. In 2019, his sophomore season, he hit .370 with nine home runs and 61 RBIs, and pitched to a 6–2 record and 3.28 ERA over innings. He was named to the AAC First Team as an outfielder, and to the Second Team as a utility player. Over the summer, he played for the

USA Baseball USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Basebal ...

Collegiate National Team and also made a brief appearance in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

with the Bourne Braves. In 2020, his junior season, Burleson hit .375 with three home runs and 12 RBIs over 17 games, alongside pitching to a 4.24 ERA over four starts, before the college baseball season was cut short due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Over his collegiate career, Burleson started games at first base, left field, right field, designated hitter, and as a pitcher. 2023Burlesoncards

Professional career

After the season, Burleson was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals as an outfielder in the second round (70th overall) of the

2020 Major League Baseball draft The 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season ...

. He signed for $700,000. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 because the season was cancelled. To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peori ...

of the High-A Central. He was quickly promoted to the Springfield Cardinals of the Double-A Central, and was then promoted to the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

of the

Triple-A East The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

in early August. Burleson ended the 2021 season with a combined .270/.329/.454 slash line with 22 home runs and 76 RBIs over 119 games between the three clubs. Burleson returned to Memphis to begin the 2022 season. Over 109 games, he slashed .331/.372/.532 with 20 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 25 doubles. On September 6, 2022, the Cardinals selected Burleson's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut on September 8 as the club's starting right fielder, going hitless over four

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s with a walk in an 11–6 loss to the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. He collected his first MLB hit on September 11, a single off

Duane Underwood Jr. Duane Lee Underwood Jr. (born July 20, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs. Career Amateur career Underwood attended A ...

of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in a 4–3 St. Louis win. He hit his first MLB home run on September 23 off of

Hanser Alberto Hanser Joel Alberto Peña (born October 17, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Baltimore Oriole ...

of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

at Dodger Stadium in an 11–0 Cardinals win. Over 48 at-bats in 16 games with the Cardinals in 2022, he hit .188 with one home run, three RBIs, and one double.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burleson, Alec 1998 births Living people Baseball players from Charlotte, North Carolina Major League Baseball outfielders St. Louis Cardinals players East Carolina Pirates baseball players Bethesda Big Train players Bourne Braves players Peoria Chiefs players Springfield Cardinals players Memphis Redbirds players