The St. Louis Cardinals announced today their selections for Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Month for May, with Springfield Cardinals (AA) teammates Alec Burleson and Jake Walsh taking the honors.
Burleson, who drew a promotion to Springfield (AA) in mid-May, combined for a .317 batting average, 7 HR’s & 19 RBI in his 21 games between Peoria (High-A) and Springfield. In his 10 games at Springfield following the promotion, the left-handed hitting outfielder produced a .350/.422/.625 slash with a 1.047 OPS.
“Alec was promoted from Peoria on May 17, continuing a productive month offensively, delivering 7 home runs and a 1.004 OPS,” stated Cardinals’ Director of Player Development Gary LaRocque.
The 6-2, 210-pound Burleson was a 2nd round compensation selection for the Cardinals (70th player overall) in 2020 out of East Carolina University where he played both outfield and pitched. Burleson, 22, who has entered his first season as a professional following last year’s minor league shutdown, is a Charlotte, NC native.
Walsh, 25, posted a 1.29 ERA in nine relief appearances for Springfield in May, striking out 19 batters in 14.0 innings pitched, while walking just two. The 6-1, 200-pound righty who had seen time as a starter in 2018 and 2019, had a 2-1 mark and closed out eight games for the S-Cards last month.
“Jake was impressive in his nine games worked during the month of May,” stated LaRocque. “He struck out 19 and allowed just two runs in 14 innings pitched.”
Walsh was drafted by the Cardinals in the 16th round (484th player overall) of the 2017 draft out of Florida Southern College. This is his second selection as Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month. The Indialantic, Florida native also took the organization’s top monthly honors in August of 2018 with Palm Beach (A).
