Alec Burleson
- St. Louis’ roster as it stands starts at 1B · 578 PA · 2.2 WAR in the role
- Trade read Available at a price: STL sits near the seller line (27% playoff odds, within a projected win of 30%); control through 2028.
- PNC Park Pittsburgh’s home park: +2.0 runs per 600 PA against an average park (+0.20 wins over 590 PA; his WAR leaves this out); home runs ×0.97 (×0.99 for left-handed hitters as a group). Park Fit →
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 667 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 207 | .246 | .307 | 18% | 5% | 37% | −1.08 | +1.13 |
| RHP | 460 | .405 | .405 | 18% | 9% | 38% | −0.78 | +4.05 |
- Attack angle
- 14.1° (52% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- +0.2°
- Swing length
- 7.7 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 35%
- Pull-air %
- 20.7%
- Hard-hit %
- 50.1%
- Slash · wRC+
- .279/.343/.473 · 125
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage middle-in (+3.6 vs. league per 100; 1.6 standard errors on 71 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest up and in (−1.2), but only 0.5 standard errors from average on 65 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 2,215 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Burleson: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | Dominic Canzone SEA · ’97 | .359 | 2.8 | 1.9 | Arb |
| 60 | Luis García Jr. NYY · ’00 | .340 | 2.6 | 1.9 | Arb |
| 54 | Drake Baldwin ATL · ’01 | .371 | 3.3 | 3.2 | Pre-arb |
| 51 | Shea Langeliers ATH · ’97 | .352 | 2.3 | 2.4 | Arb |
| 51 | Samuel Basallo BAL · ’04 | .318 | 0.6 | 0.8 | Signed $1.6M |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1B | 0 | 0 | +7.1 | +7.1 | 5,689 |
| 2025 | RF | −3 | −3 | −0.7 | −3.7 | 1,127 |
| 2025 | LF | −1 | −1 | −0.9 | −1.9 | 1,414 |
| 2025 | 1B | 0 | 0 | +0.1 | +0.1 | 1,519 |
| 2024 | 1B | +1 | +1 | +0.1 | +1.1 | 487 |
| 2024 | LF | −3 | −2 | +0.5 | −1.5 | 978 |
| 2024 | RF | −6 | −6 | +0.8 | −5.2 | 1,350 |
| 2023 | RF | −2 | −2 | +0.2 | −1.8 | 390 |
| 2023 | 1B | −2 | −2 | +0.3 | −1.7 | 451 |
| 2023 | LF | −5 | −4 | +0.8 | −3.2 | 1,297 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At 1B in 2026, the biggest loss came in (charging) (−2 outs): a coaching target.
Tools (percentile; arm among 1Bs)| Play | Made | Chances | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | 0 | 8 | 0% |
| ★★★★ | 0 | 3 | 0% |
| ★★★ | 0 | 5 | 0% |
| ★★ | 6 | 7 | 86% |
| ★ | 16 | 18 | 89% |
| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1B | 361 | +12.7 |
| 2025 | RF | 114 | +1.5 |
| 2025 | LF | 129 | +1.6 |
| 2025 | 1B | 93 | +0.3 |
| 2024 | RF | 135 | −2.9 |
| 2024 | LF | 111 | −3.9 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
* projected arbitration or minimum salary. Contract Studio →
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant