Alec Burleson's hot streak has ended the runway for Cardinals young slugger

The St. Louis Cardinals have put together an impressive month of May, using a nine-game winning streak to redefine the direction the club is going in the 2025 season. After a tough April put them near the National League cellar, the recent hot stretch has put the Cardinals firmly into contention and back into the national spotlight.

This surge has been a full team effort as all aspects of the team have contributed in a big way this month. The starting pitching continues to surpass preseason expectations while the lineup and bullpen have found their footing after a mediocre beginning to the season. One of the driving forces behind the offense clicking is designated hitter Alec Burleson. After a miserable start to the campaign, Burleson has unlocked his swing to catapult himself back into a must-start hitter in the lineup.

Alec Burleson's strong May spells disaster for Nolan Gorman

Count me in as one of the people who was done watching Burleson take at-bats in the middle of the order while he swung (and made contact) with anything around the zone, but failed to provide the pop that he demonstrated at the beginning of last season. When Ivan Herrera went down with an injury, I specifically mentioned Burleson as someone who would need to step up, and in a separate article, noted how his early-season performance was limiting the team's success. Well, step up he did when the calendar flipped to May.

Through the series that just ended against the Tigers, Burleson has slashed .357/.413/.690 in what has been the best month of his three-plus-year career. In 42 at-bats, the big lefty has only struck out five times while hitting four homers, two doubles, and driving in 10 runs. His offense has even turned into Burleson getting innings in the outfield in multiple instances for the first time this season, showing that manager Oli Marmol is doing what he can to keep the best-performing hitters in the lineup.

That is where Nolan Gorman is affected the most. In April, Gorman used his preseason runway expectations to gain 49 at-bats working as the designated hitter or second baseman against right-handed starters. He also got a few opportunities at third base as a fill-in for Nolan Arenado when the veteran needed some time off. Gorman failed to take advantage of these chances, though, and limped through April with a .143/.267/.245 slash line while striking out 18 times. A positive was that five of his seven hits during the month went for extra bases, but he was not producing with enough consistency to force Marmol's hand with his inclusion in the starting lineup on a regular basis.

While Burleson has flourished in May, Gorman has gone in the wrong direction, and the organization appears to be close to pulling the plug on the infielder before long. With only three series remaining this month, Gorman has only managed to get 26 at-bats and has failed to do anything in his limited playing time, hitting four singles while striking out another seven times. What is tough to come to terms with, for me at least, is that Gorman is striking out at a career-low level (26.7%) and drawing walks at the highest rate (13.7%) of his career. I was (and at times, still am) a firm believer in Gorman and truly wanted him to become the 30-homer second baseman that could be a force in the lineup for years to come. The 25-year-old just has not yet been able to put it all together consistently enough to warrant near every day at-bats.

Burleson is beginning to get time in the outfield, which opens up the designated hitter spot, but now Marmol is opting to put Herrera, Contreras, or Arenado in that spot above Gorman. In the last game against Detroit, Gorman got into the lineup alongside all of the above, plus Jordan Walker, and I was tuned in to see how the bottom half of the order would compete with that chance. I was disappointed again when Gorman went 1-for-3 and failed to cash in with runners in scoring position. Burleson, on the other hand, went 2-for-4 and pushed his season batting average up to .291 to go along with his .768 OPS.

With the Cardinals looking to push for a division title, the opportunities for Gorman may continue to be few and far between as they look to put the best nine on the field each game. There is no telling what his future looks like with the team, but I personally would hate it if they sent him elsewhere with his value at an all-time low and still being in his mid-20s. He does have minor league options remaining, but he has shown he can handle lower-level pitching, and his improved approach shows he is at least coachable. But with Thomas Saggese continuing to perform at Memphis and the other lefties on the big league roster hitting their stride, the club may need to make a decision on Gorman earlier than they anticipated.