3 Cardinals players who have been horrifically unlucky this year

1. Alec Burleson .297 wOBA and .327 xwOBA 30 point difference

Alec Burleson has convincingly been the unluckiest hitter for the Cardinals in 2023. He has not been an everyday player like Contreras and Goldschmidt have, but when he has played he has not been granted the results that he deserves.

Looking at Burleson's expected offensive numbers, his expected batting average is 25 points higher than his actual average, which is tied for 31st in all of baseball. His expected SLG is 43 points higher than his actual which is 37th in the league. And lastly, his aforementioned 30-point difference in xwOBA is 16th in the league. Safe to say Burleson is one of the unluckiest hitters in baseball this season. His 30-point difference in expected and actual OBA is the highest for a Cardinal hitter since Matt Carpenter in 2020 (37-point difference).

Burleson has not been hitting the ball particularly hard this season, only Tommy Edman among qualified hitters has a lower barrel rate, but Burleson puts balls in play at a higher rate than anyone on the team, as his 13% K percentage is the lowest on the team. This may be a flaw in the stat calculating " luck " if they think that Burleson should get more results only because he puts the ball in play at a high rate, but regardless when Burleson has hit the ball hard, he hasn't been able to find holes when he makes quality contact, and these metrics show he's had some of the worst luck among hitters this season.