Breaking down Brendan Donovan's and Alec Burleson's Silver Slugger award chances

Despite a disappointing 2025 season for the St. Louis Cardinals, they saw a few of their young stars earn individual accolades. For starters, Masyn Winn dominated defensively throughout the year, earning a Gold Glove award nomination. Victor Scott II did the same and earned a nomination for his stellar defense. Alec Burleson had another great season from the plate, as did Brendan Donovan. These two Cardinals were nominated for Silver Slugger awards.

Ahead of the release of Silver Slugger awards on FanSided on November 6th, what are the chances that Donovan or Burleson takes home the award? 

Given their offensive output this season, pretty high. Both players were not nominated at a primary position, but instead make up two of the three nominees at the utility position. Donovan spent time all over the infield, while Burleson spent time between first base and the corner outfield positions. Jake Cronenworth is the third and final nominee, also playing in many different infield positions for the San Diego Padres this season. None of these players have ever won a Silver Slugger award in their careers.

Starting with the non-Cardinal, Jake Cronenworth, he has an outside chance at the award. Over 135 games, Cronenworth batted .246 with 103 hits and 11 home runs. He also had 32 extra-base hits and 59 RBIs. He registered a .367 OBP, .377 SLG and a .744 OPS. That said, Cronenworth recorded the fewest at-bats in a season throughout his career, excluding the shortened 2020 season.

Next is Brendan Donovan. Donovan dominated at the plate in the first half of the year, earning his first career All-Star appearance. With that being said, he missed plenty of the second half due to injury. Of the three candidates, Donovan played the fewest games, totaling 118. In those games, he hit .287 with 132 hits and 10 home runs. He knocked in 50 runs and recorded 42 extra base hits. Donovan also posted a .353 OBP, a .422 SLG and a .775 OPS.

Finally, Alec Burleson. Burleson had a career year in 2025, turning in one of his best performances from the plate. Despite hitting fewer home runs than in 2024, Burleson still produced. He finished the year batting .290 with 18 home runs and 144 hits. He added 69 RBIs and 46 extra base hits. He also recorded a .343 OBP, a .459 SLG and a .801 OPS.

With all the numbers available, Burleson seems to be the most likely winner. He leads all three in home runs, hits, RBIs, batting average, SLG and OPS, with Donovan and Cronenworth trailing by a large margin in many of those categories. He trails Cronenworth in OBP, but only by 0.14 points. If it were between Donovan and Cronenworth, Donovan also seems to have the upper hand. He recorded 29 more hits and only one less home run, despite playing in 17 fewer games. Like Burleson, his SLG and OPS were also much stronger than the San Diego infielder. 

In the end, it seems as though a Cardinal will win a Silver Slugger in 2025. Had Brendan Donovan been able to play a full season, the race may have appeared closer between the two Cardinals teammates. With Masyn Winn the favorite to win the Gold Glove award at shortstop, the Cardinals may have two players taking home hardware. That said, although the Cardinals played poorly in 2025, the Redbirds have plenty of young talent to keep fans optimistic for future success.