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Before opening the season as the Cardinals’ starting shortstop, and before moving up the order as the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter, rookie Masyn Winn had heard about what his teammate Alec Burleson could do when he steps to the plate.

“I didn’t get to play with him too much before this year and then a little bit at the end of last year,� Winn said. “But I mean, all I’ve heard throughout the minor league is that he rakes. He’s going to catch barrels. He’s going to do (his) job.�

While batting leadoff on Saturday with Burleson slotted a spot behind him against the Giants, Winn saw an example of what he had been told about the left-handed hitting outfielder. He saw it while standing on the base path on multiple occasions.

As a part of St. Louis’ 9-4 win over San Francisco, Burleson went three-for-four with two home runs and five RBIs. The two-home run game was the first of Burleson’s career. The five RBIs set a career-high for the 25-year-old in his second full season as a major leaguer.

“It was awesome,� Burleson said of his two-homer game. “A lot of guys in the dugout thought that I kind of pimped the second one, but I thought he (center fielder Heliot Ramos) was going to catch it. I thought it was right to him (Ramos). Once I saw his (jersey) numbers, I thought I was going to be a double and then I obviously saw it land over the fence.�

Burleson’s two home runs accounted for two of the four the Cardinals (38-37) hit in a series-clinching win over the Giants that got St. Louis back above .500. It was a win during which the two youngsters, both taken by the Cardinals in the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLB draft, continued to have success at the top of manager Oliver Marmol’s batting order.

Across his previous 19 games including Saturday’s, Burleson has a .289 batting average, five doubles, seven home runs, and 12 RBIs. He’s started and batted second in Marmol’s lineup in 18 of 19 of those games.

“We’re benefiting a ton from him,� Marmol said of Burleson. “For a while now, he’s just taking, regardless of where you put him, a really professional at-bat. He grinds it out. He’s not afraid of hitting with two strikes. He’s taking his shots prior to two strikes. When he’s in hitter’s counts, he’s taking really good swings. … He’s done a really nice job in that two-hole.�

Since the start of June, Winn has started in 18 games and hit from the leadoff spot in 17 of those 18. The 22-year-old has a .286 average and is slugging .429 with 14 runs scored in that stretch. His latest showing from the leadoff spot included a three-for-five game with a double and an RBI on Saturday. The two runs he scored came on Burleson’s two homers.

The three-hit game raised Winn’s average to .300 and his on-base percentage to .344 while providing another example of how the two have been able to “feed off each other.�

“The confidence he has in me and the confidence I have in him, it’s very evident, for sure,� Winn said.

Despite being a part of the same draft that class also included 22-year-old outfielder Jordan Walker (21st overall) and 21-year-old Tink Hence, the latter being a former 63rd overall pick and the Cardinals’ top pitching prospect, Winn and Burleson did not become teammates in affiliated baseball until last August, when Winn reached the majors.

As a high school draft product out of Texas, Winn (54th overall) began his professional career in 2021 in Class Low-A Palm Beach and progressed up the Cardinals farm system with a stop in High-A later that year, a promotion to Class AA in 2022, and eventually a call-up from Class AAA to the majors last summer.

Meanwhile, Burleson (70th overall) jumped into Class High-A in 2021 to begin his professional career after playing for East Carolina University for three seasons. The left-handed hitting outfielder received promotions to Class AA and Class AAA before his first minor league season ended. He opened the 2022 season in Class AAA and reached the majors in September of that year, making him the first of the Cardinals’ 2020 draft class to get to the big leagues.

Now, as the two get regular at-bats from the top of the Cardinals order, they’ve found a way to build off each other’s at-bats.

“Just watching that guy hit in front of me, put good at-bats together, and then when he’s on base, if he hits a single, it’s more likely a double so he’s probably going to be in scoring position for me,� Burleson said of Winn. “But just feeding off him and being in the one-two hole, you want to get on in front of guys like (Paul Goldschmidt), (Nolan) Gorman, and (Nolan Arenado). It’s been a lot of fun hitting.�

And soak in the moments that are key to a win.

“I don’t know how many two home-run games he has. I don’t have one, so I love celebrating them whenever they happen,� Winn said of Burleson. “I didn’t know it was gone off the bat either. I was kind of rounding second base and didn’t know. I saw his (Ramos’) back turn and then the ball just landed up on the berm. So great vibes in (the dugout). I mean, today was a very good day.�