Alec Burleson recently reached the minimum requirements to become a qualified hitter in Major League Baseball, reaching the 3.1 plate appearances per team game needed to be listed on the big league leaderboard. Burleson debuts on the National League leaderboard sixth in batting average, hitting .300 on the season.
While smacking 10 home runs so far this season, he is slowly building his case for his first career All-Star selection, but he likely will not make it to Atlanta for the festivities.
With teammate Brendan Donovan being snubbed from the finalists in the fan voting, finishing more than one million votes shy of the second-place vote getter (Tommy Edman), it is hard to believe Burleson will be selected by the coaches.
Burleson did not even receive enough votes to land in the top 20 for the outfield position, but the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder is making a case for his selection. Burleson leads the Cardinals in slugging, while being second in OPS and home runs.
If the Cardinals are to only get one All-Star this season, it will likely be Donovan headed to Atlanta, but if they were to get more participants, Burleson is silently putting together a season worthy of an invite.
The hard truth is that Burleson’s lack of playing time in the early portion of the season likely held him back from being at the forefront of options from the Cardinals.
The Cardinals entered the season looking to give multiple players ample time to show they belong at the Major League level and Burleson was on that list. He has certainly played himself into an everyday role with the club, but splitting time early in the season will hamper his chances of an All-Star appearance.
Burleson still has time to climb the lists of coaches and force his way into a roster spot, but time is running out for the Cardinals slugger.