The second half of June has not been kind to the St. Louis Cardinals and their postseason standings, but there are still personal bright spots to pick from during these tough times. My player to watch this season Blaze Jordan could no longer be ignored and has been the everyday third baseman upon his promotion, while Alec Burleson continues to cement himself among the league’s top-10 first basemen. How long they remain in those spots, however, remains to be seen.
As the offense continue to be… offensive to our eyes, Burleson has not slumped along with everyone else still putting up an OPS nearing .900 but without the run production thanks to the top of the lineup. That RBI lead over the last seven days actually belongs to Jordan who’s five RBIs top the lineup. This could also be a talking point for the team’s overall struggle since the offense has scored less than four runs per game over the last week. With that production coming from the corner infield, it keeps me wondering what the long-term plan Chaim continues to mention has laid out for those spots.
Blaze Jordan and Alec Burleson are either cornerstones or placeholders for the future
After debuting with a blast, Blaze has slowed down outside of his three RBI game. Over the past week, he is hitting .200 with a .478 OPS but he continues to be slotted into the lower-third of the order. To me, Jordan is an “eye test” player as the numbers do not usually tell the whole story, especially for his defense. Right before his promotion, the word on the street was that he was not viewed as a third baseman, and lo and behold, here he is playing the position with some first sprinkled in.
While the average is nothing to be excited about, he has been able to put the ball in play, only striking out three times in 15 at-bats after concerns about his chase rate popped up. He has also performed well at the hot corner, making the routine plays look routine while also making a couple of plus plays in his short time in the bigs. Jordan has one total error in over 120 defensive innings and the advanced statistics are actually bullish on his performance thus far. With light tower power, the ability to make contact, and decent defense, Blaze could have played his way from organizational depth to a long(er) term big league piece.
Jordan finally got his chance thanks to Nolan Gorman’s inability to hit anything and Gorm is just starting his re-development process down in Memphis. With the Cardinals unlikely to rush Gorman back to the majors and ensuring he gets necessary playing time, Jordan’s leash in St. Louis is extending further. This is not just because of Gorm, though, as there is next to nobody in the minor league system with top prospect pedigree at the hot corner. Not that prospect rankings mean everything, but behind Gorman sits the FanGraphs unranked Ramon Mendoza and Deniel Ortiz seeing time at third base.
This leads me to the conclusion that the future of the position is not currently in the organization, even when looking further down to players like Jesus Baez or Yairo Padilla who have third as a fallback if their primary spots don’t work out. With the timeline back to perennial contention unclear, it is hard to determine if this is a position that Chaim will actively target at this year’s deadline or if he will acquire who is deemed the best prospect available regardless of position.
Moving across the diamond sits the sixth-best first baseman in all of baseball according to fWAR. His 1.9 value sits fourth in the NL despite still measuring as a slightly below-average fielder while passing the eye test with flying colors. Second-oldest on the team behind Lars Nootbaar, Burleson has become a steady presence in the middle of the order and now sits tied for fifth in baseball with 57 RBIs. With an .832 OPS and 2.5 seasons of team control remaining, the conversation should be about who to surround Burly with in the order for the future.
The lefty has continued to improve every season since debuting back in 2022 and is well on pace for his most productive season, coming a year after winning the Silver Slugger award as a utility player. While Burleson does not have the same pop as the typical first baseman, his batting average and doubles total is near the top of the leaderboard, putting his OPS in a spot to be in the conversation for the award as a one position player.
This type of profile, and eventual expiring contract, could make Burleson someone who is on the way out rather than here for the long haul a la Brendan Donovan. Burly’s price could arguably be higher than Donnie’s as he has been a more productive hitter but without the defensive versatility of the former Cardinal. The return from Seattle is nothing to scoff at, but Burleson is two years younger and $2.5 million cheaper than the traded utility man, so an acquiring team would have to give up a lot to convince Chaim Bloom to separate from one of the few “sure things” on the major league roster.
Similar to Jordan’s situation, Burleson has little behind him that could fill his major league spot if a trade were to happen. Blaze has played a couple games at first this season when Burly has been out of the lineup with 30-year-old Bligh Madris taking over for Jordan down in Memphis. Catcher Leonardo Bernal has seen some time at first, but with Jimmy Crooks in the bigs, Bernal has been able to spend more time behind the dish. Springfield has had Deniel Ortiz and Trey Paige split time at first, but High-A one bagger Jack Gurevitch has had the most success this year. The 22-year-old has taken a great step forward in his second season of professional baseball and has found a way to improve both his power and average.
Like Donovan, Burleson might just be the best player on the St. Louis Cardinals at the wrong time. With the team going through another summer struggle, it is continuing the be clear that the best strategy for this season is to sell the valuable pieces, which could expand beyond those on expiring deals. I would personally be surprised if Burleson were to be dangled on the trade block this season, but it is always necessary for team’s to do their due diligence, especially with a piece as potentially valuable as Burleson.
Let me know what you think the Cardinals should do with the corner infield. On Cardinals on My Time this week, Royce Lewis was mentioned as a potential target while trading Burleson was deemed “idiotic”. What do you see Burleson’s future is with the organization and is Blaze more than just a placeholder?
Side note: I looked at Doc’s poll results for what the readers want and MILB content was near the top. I plan to get a minor league update pod recorded within the next week, so if you have certain questions about the minors, drop them below as well.
Thanks as always!
