1B/DH/OF Alec Burleson
There may not be a player on the roster who took advantage of the runway opportunity more than Alec Burleson. In just one season, he went from potentially not starting on Opening Day in spring training to being deemed an everyday player by his manager. That's not a small accomplishment.
Burly has a .289/.342/.46 slash line for an OPS of .808, the best on the team this year. He's slugged 18 home runs and driven in 66 runners in 132 games. He's been one of the best hitters on the team all year.
He's improved his chase rate, whiff rate, walk rate, and barrel rate this year to tap into more power, and it's showing. His slugging percentage alone has risen .046 points from last year.
Burleson has also improved his splits against left-handed pitchers. He slashed .195/.229/.286 last year against southpaws, but he's slashing .273/.302/.400 this year. While he hasn't been able to tap into power against same-handed pitchers, he's been able to make far better contact overall and post a respectable batting average.
Alec Burleson has also made improvements on the defensive side of the game. Last year, he accumulated -6 Outs Above Average (OAA) in right field and -3 in left field. In a similar amount of playing time this year, Burleson has been able to improve those figures to -3 OAA in right field and 0 OAA in left field. He's not a plus defender, but he's at least serviceable now. His work with assistant coach Jon Jay hasn't gone unnoticed.
Burleson is also satisfied with the way his season has gone. “I don’t think I really need to prove anything,” he said. “I think it’s more of continuing to do what I do for a full season. I don’t think there’s anything more that I need to necessarily prove with my ability. I’ve proven it already, I just need to continue to be consistent with it.”
Alec Burleson's strong production this year has locked him into a spot in the heart of the lineup in 2026. He certainly took full advantage of his opportunities his year.