After four full seasons (plus nine games), with the Blue Jays, we had some to realize the good bat/poor glove description that we had been given of Alejandro Kirk wasn’t accurate. He’s tremendous defensively. And his bat? That’s seen good times and bad.
With the trade of Danny Jansen, at the deadline in 2024, Kirk became the unquestioned number one catcher. We did wonder how Alejandro would hold up, getting the bulk of the work behind the plate. But then he had played over 100 games the previous three
seasons.
This year:
| Age | WAR | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | TB | GIDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 2.3 | 130 | 506 | 451 | 45 | 127 | 18 | 0 | 15 | 76 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 59 | .282 | .348 | .421 | .769 | 111 | 190 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
Baseball Reference has him at 2.3 WAR (2.0 last year), FanGraphs at 4.7 (2.8 last year), and his value to the team at $37.4 million. That’s a rather significant difference between the two WARs.
He had a .334 wOBA and a 116 wRC+ (last year .297 and a 93).
Alejandro’s BABIP was .292 (up from .276 last year).
His walk rate was 9.5% (up slightly from 9.1%). The strikeout rate was down, 11.7% from 13.2.
Kirk’s line-drive rate was down from last year (18.6% from 21.8). Ground ball rate down (44.2% from 45.3). The flyball rate was up (37.2% from 32.9). More of his fly balls left the park (10.1% from 5.1).
Kirk’s soft contact was down (13.1% from 16.1), and hard contact was up (39.4% from 34.2).
Kirk hit LHP (.276/.347/.417) much the same as RHP (.284/.348/.423).
He hit a little better on the road (.300/.359/.414) than at home (.264/.337/.429).
Kirk got on base more in the first half (.303/.361/.408), but hit with more power in the second half (.244/.326/.445).
Kirk by month:
- April: .239/.269/.341 with 2 home runs, 3 walks and 14 strikeouts in 23 games.
- May: .365/.430/.419 with 1 home run, 10 walks and 4 strikeouts in 23 games.
- June: .337/.385/.528 with 4 home runs, 7 walks and 9 strikeouts in 23 games.
- July: .279/.366/.344 with 0 home runs, 9 walks and 7 strikeouts in 19 games.
- August: .257/.358/.457 with 4 home runs, 11 walks and 9 strikeouts in 21 games.
- September: .203/.278/.420 with 4 home runs, 8 walks and 16 strikeouts in 21.
He did look tired in September, but then he got things going again in the last few games.
Kirk he .315/.381/.435 with RISP.
Times facing a starting pitcher:
- First: .280/.339-/458.
- Second: .235/.300/.316.
- Third: .242/.299/.371.
- He faced one starter a fourth time, making an out.
He hit very well in high leverage spots, .350/.384/.480.
Strange that he hit the pitcher best the first time he faced him in a game.
Defensively?
He caught in 118 games and DHed in 7.
He made 9 errors at catcher, most in the AL, for a .991 FA (league average .993). He had 4 passed balls, and there were 21 wild pitches with him at catcher. I noticed we didn’t hear about the one-knee stuff as much as in the past, which was a pleasant change.
His caught-stealing rate was 19.8%, while the league average was 21.5%. He started the season very well, and had a 26.7% caught stealing rate at the start of August, but only threw out 1 of 26 base stealers after August 1st.
Baseball Savant has him at the 98th percentile for framing and 100% for blocks above average.
As a baserunner, he was 5.9 runs below average. He did have a stolen base! Baseball Savante has him at the 2nd percentile for ‘sprint speed’.
Where he hit in the order in games he started:
- 3rd: 4 games. .389/.389/.556.
- 4th: 35 games. .285/.360/.423.
- 5th: 48 games. .243/.304/.277.
- 6th: 28 games. .301/.373/.593.
- 7th: 3 games. .286/.500/.714.
That number, while batting 5th, is pretty sad. I tend not to believe there is a magic to particular spots in the order for batters, but even I would think twice about batting him fifth.
The Jays were 68-50 in his starts.
His longest hitting streak was 8 games. Longest on-base streak was 12 games.
The longest he went without a hit was 6 games (twice, both in September). The longest he went without a home run was 36 games.
Favourite team to face: He hit .500/.563/1.134 in four games vs the Mariners.
Least favourite: He hit .000/.056/.000 in 5 games vs the Astros.
| Series | Opp | W/L | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB | GIDP | HBP | SF | IBB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALDS | NYY | W (3-1) | 4 | 18 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .222 | .222 | .611 | .833 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ALCS | SEA | W (4-3) | 7 | 31 | 27 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | .222 | .323 | .370 | .693 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WS | LAD | L (3-4) | 7 | 34 | 26 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | .308 | .441 | .538 | .980 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
A pretty good playoff run. Base stealers went 7 and 1 against him in the playoffs.
I thought he deserved the Gold Glove, but then I don’t see enough of the other catchers.
Maybe a strike against him was that our pitchers did better throwing to Tyler Heineman (3.54 ERA, batters hit .221/.289/.370) than they did to Kirk (4.34, .247/.321/.418). I’d imagine that there is a lot of ‘noise’ in that stat, but I don’t remember that they gave Tyler the ‘better’ pitchers to catch or anything.
Kirk is signed through the 2030 season at very affordable rates: $8.7 million next year and $12.325 million for the next four seasons. I feel pretty safe in feeling that he’ll provide way more value than what the Jays pay him. He’ll be 32 when the contract is over.
Kirk will always be one of my favourites (he’s my middle son’s favourite player, my son identifies with the body type. He saw that if the future of ‘athletes’). I always like John Kruk’s line: I ain’t no athlete, I’m a baseball player. Not to paraphrase Buck, but Kirk is a baseball player.
Let’s have the poll:
