Alec Burleson’s Silver Slugger bid validates Cardinals’ perfect backup plan

Alec Burleson was a monster at the plate in 2026, rightfully earning his spot as a finalist for the 2026 National League Louisville Silver Slugger Award at first base. Not only is he in line to win his second career Silver Slugger award, but he's proving the St. Louis Cardinals' post-Willson Contreras plans to be about as perfect as possible.

In 2025, Burleson won the first-ever Utility Silver Slugger award after splitting time between the corner outfield, first base, and designated hitter. Burleson had a career year at the plate, slashing .290/.343/.459 with 18 home runs and 69 RBI in 139 games, edging out former teammate Brendan Donovan in the process. He is now a finalist for the first-base award, and teammate Jordan Walker is a finalist in the outfield.

But after the Cardinals dealt Contreras to the Boston Red Sox last offseason, the first base position opened up for Burleson, and he absolutely ran with the opportunity, leading all of Major League Baseball in RBI (116) and posting career highs in fWAR (3.2), wRC+ (125), slugging percentage (.473), home runs (26), and runs scored (89), among other categories. He even improved against left-handed pitching in the second half, something that has hindered his performance during his career.

Willson Contreras had a career year himself in Boston, slugging 27 home runs with a 151 wRC+ in the process. He was a perfect fit for Fenway Park and is a worthy candidate for the American League Silver Slugger award in his own right. While Contreras would have been a huge help to the Cardinals in 2026, trading him was the right call, and it's fun to see him succeed in his new home.

For the Cardinals, though, they couldn't be more thrilled with how Burleson played this year, both at the plate and manning first base, and he's got a real shot at taking home the Silver Slugger award again this year.

Cardinals' Alec Burleson has a strong case for the NL Silver Slugger award

The other first base finalists - Milwaukee's Jake Bauers, Atlanta's Matt Olson, and San Francisco's Rafael Devers - all have their own cases for the award, but it would not be surprising at all to see Burleson take the award home this year.

Here is how Burleson compares to the other finalists:

It looks to be a pretty tight race at the moment, as all four players have really solid cases for the award.

A couple of things I would put in Burleson's favor that we'll have to see if the voters keep on their radar. Away from Busch Stadium, where it was arguably the toughest place to produce in baseball this year, especially for power, Burleson had a .534 SLG, the best among all first basemen away from their home parks. He also posted a 141 wRC+, which is quite a step up from his overall wRC+. Even with playing half of his games at Busch, Burleson was still a good hitter at that park.

And again, Burleson led all of baseball in runs driven in, which is quite an accomplishment!

I'll be fascinated to see how the voters land in this race, but Burleson had as good a case as anyone to take home the award this year.

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