Burleson has gone 5-for-23 over his last seven games and has yet to connect for a home run through 15 contests. There’s no reason for long-term concern here, but the Cardinals are seemingly going to give Luken Baker some additional opportunities at DH against left-handers, which includes on Monday night against Astros southpaw Framber Valdez.

With the Angels starting left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, the Cardinals will send Burleson to the bench and have Luken Baker start at designated hitter. Early on, it’s clear that Burleson and Baker will be in a platoon at 1B/DH with Willson Contreras getting regular starts at the other spot.

Burleson was in an 0-for-9 slump that had left him with a .200 average through 30 at-bats. The homer today off Bowden Francis was his second of the spring. It appears that he’s fighting Nolan Gorman to serve as the Cardinals’ DH against right-handers. He should win out there, but the Cardinals really don’t want to write off Gorman, who was going to be the team’s third baseman if a Nolan Arenado trade got done.

The Cardinals are looking at Burleson as more of a first baseman than an outfielder these days, but realistically, he’s going to DH most of the time he’s in the lineup. He’s now in a little bit of a position battle there, since it looks like Nolan Gorman might be in line to see much of his time at DH, too. Neither is hitting this spring; Burleson has a .619 OPS, while Gorman has come in at .521.