Cardinals' corner infielders to anchor middle of the St. Louis order

The St. Louis Cardinals put the finishing touches on their Opening Day roster, but the starting infield was made clear pretty early in Spring Training. Now that JJ Wetherholt is officially making the roster as a second baseman, the corner infield is made up of Alec Burleson at first and Nolan Gorman at third.

Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman look to improve in different ways in 2026

The only real conversation around the infield was where Wetherholt would play, but he will settle in at second base, allowing Nolan Gorman the opportunity to shift back to his natural position in a true runway season. While the lefty slugger has over 1400 big league at-bats, the story behind those plate appearances tells a different tale. Still just 26 years old, Gorman has faced a position change, injury concerns, a platoon role, demotion, and a false starting promise within his four years at the major league level. Now that Nolan Arenado is gone and Wetherholt is shifting to second, Gorman's season should be uninterrupted as the Cardinals determine what his future with the organization is.

On Opening Day, Burleson stole the show with a huge two-run blast to give the Cardinals the lead, and Gorman got the scoring started in that epic sixth-inning comeback. The pair of left-handed bats sure showed how they could lead the Cardinals' offense in 2026.

While it sounds like I am making excuses, I am, but I also have been much higher on Gorman than most. Call me crazy, but the 30-homer lefty power is something the Cardinals have been missing (among others) and this season is the perfect situation for the former first-round pick to prove his worth. He also has a slight advantage of a longer leash due to the fact that he is not really being pressed by anyone in the minors unless the Cardinals view Wetherholt as a potential third baseman. By the end of this year, Gorman should accumulate four full seasons of service time, which at that point, I believe we will have an answer one way or another for his future. Spring training stats aside, his approach at the plate has been a positive development and the hope is that his adjustments will track to the regular season. FanGraphs projects Gorman to lead the team with 24 homers, but count me in for 30 or more as he becomes the middle-of-the-order bat of the future.

On the other side of the diamond comes another player going through a position change, but again, this should benefit all parties as Alec Burleson trades in his outfield glove to take over for Willson Contreras at first base. While he may still see a couple of games in the grass, the long-term plan is for Burleson to settle in as a solid producer at the cold corner. After winning the Silver Slugger award as a utility guy last year, he will have more tough competition at first base to repeat. With a career-high of 21 homers, Burleson lacks the prototypical power for burly first basemen, but he has shown signs that he has more in the tank. The eldest of the lineup at 27-years-old, the lefty has improved every season in the majors and he could take another step forward as a main contributor in an otherwise unproven lineup.

It is because of his consistent improvement and steady presence that I made him our second pick in our fWAR draft, and I think the FanGraphs' prediction on Burleson's 2026 season is undervaluing what he can do. In his third full season, Burleson put up an .801 OPS and missing some time with injury or he could have set career-highs across the board last year. While spending more than half of his time in the outfield, Burleson rated below-average defensively and FanGraphs sees that continuing in 2026. However, with the slugger figuring to get minimal time, if any, in the outfield, I would be surprised to see his defense grade out so poorly again this year. Because of my optimism, I view the 2.1 fWAR prediction for Burleson to be on the very conservative side, with my expectation of him is to be approaching a 3.0 fWAR this year.

If all goes well, the combination of Burleson and Gorman should be the most productive hitters in the Cardinals' order, with Ivan Herrera splitting up the lefties in the order. If the catching experiment fails for Herrera, he could eventually pick up a first base glove, but that might not come until next offseason. Backing up the two lefties are utility man Ramon Urias and Yohel Pozo, with Thomas Saggese and Jose Fermin grabbing a start or two at third. Because of the lack of minor leaguers knocking on the door or other big league guys clamoring for playing time, I believe that both Burleson and Gorman could be major talking points if the Cardinals outperform expectations this year.