Thoughts on Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson Snubbed in MLB Players Choice awards?

When the MLB Players Association revealed the finalists for its Player Choice Awards on Wednesday, St. Louis Cardinals standouts Jordan Walker and Alec Burleson were nowhere to be found.

Granted the Cardinals faded badly over the last month of the season and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season -- a first in St. Louis since the 1988-95 era.

However, Burleson and Walker were too good in 2026 to go completely unnoticed in the balloting conducted by MLB Players.

Walker announced himself to the baseball world in 2026 with 29 homers, 33 doubles, 102 RBI and 22 stolen bases, while also becoming an All-Star, a Home Run Derby champion and a Roberto Clemente Award nominee. If not an Outstanding Player award, Walker should have at least been a finalist for the Comeback Player award for how he broke out of three seasons of struggling. (Sandy Alcantara, Martin Perez and Zack Wheeler are the Comeback Player finalists.)  

Cubs' superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong, the heavy favorite to be named the National League's Most Valuable Player, was named a finalist for the Players' Choice Outstanding Player award. Dodgers' superstar Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber were also finalists.

Crow-Armstrong had the most complete season of any player in the NL, hitting .280 with 45 homers, 107 RBI and 41 stolen bases. He also led all MLB with 26 Outs Above Average defensively.

Ohtani had a down year at the plate (30 home runs and 81 RBI) in 139 games. On the mound, he went 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 86 innings pitched before getting shut down after 14 starts.

As for Schwarber, he finished tied with Crow-Armstrong for the MLB lead in homers with 45. However, he also struck out 220 times, hit just .232 and failed to drive in 100 runs (97).

All Burleson did was lead MLB in RBI (116), rank third in doubles (37) and hit a career-best number of home runs (26). Also, there's this: He was MLB's best clutch hitter with 62 hits (first in MLB), 15 doubles (first in MLB), 86 RBI (second in MLB) and a .358 batting average (third in MLB) with runners in scoring position.