Alejandro Kirk shines in latest Blue Jays’ victory

“For him to hit the ball that part of the field, that hard, is really encouraging,” said Schneider, speaking on Kirk’s heroics last night. “That position is so physically and mentally demanding. One of his best traits is that he’s just ‘right here’; he doesn’t really get high or low. He’s just cool and calm… It’s hard to do that, it’s hard to digest the gameplan, it’s hard to catch Chris Bassitt, it’s hard to block Brendon Little’s curveball, and it’s hard to go hit. He’s doing all of that.”

This isn’t the first time Kirk has played hero this season.

In the April 30th game against the Boston Red Sox, Kirk walked to the plate with bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth inning and laced a single to left field, winning the game on his bobblehead night. He was 2 for 5 on the day, adding a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.

“With that at-bat, I just wanted to be timed up with his fastball,” said Kirk, speaking through an interpreter about last night’s home run off Pepiot. “He has a good fastball, and he throws that fastball regardless of the count, and he left it right down the middle.”

Kirk is certainly doing his part, with the backstop producing a .407/.429/.556 slash line through his last seven games and 27 at-bats, collecting 11 hits that include last night’s home run and four RBIs. He also walked once while striking just two times during the stint.

Kirk’s season totals are now sitting at .293/.318/.398 with a .716 OPS, as the right-handed batter has produced 36 hits, seven of which have been for extra bases.

“Very happy, very proud moment,” said Kirk.”With the times right now, everybody’s doing their part, and I am happy that I could make that moment for my time today.”

On the defensive side of the game, Kirk has been lauded for his work behind the plate in terms of blocking and pitch framing, but he’s made massive strides with his arm as well. He’s improved his pop time by over .05 seconds compared to last season (1.95 versus 2.00) and after throwing out just 18.1% of base stealers in 2023, he’s improved over the years to rank in the higher percentiles with his arm, tossing out 31% and now 33.3% of base stealers in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

He ranks first within the American League with nine runners thrown out while only allowing 18 stolen bases during that span.

“Going back to the offseason of 23, he put a lot of emphasis into his throwing and arm strength, as well as accuracy,” said Schneider, speaking on Kirk’s throwing. “The thing with catching, you have to be accurate for things to happen, and he’s checked that off as well as improving his arm strength. I know he’s up there in terms of framing and blocking, I think he’s doing a good job of understanding what he’s good at and using his skills accordingly. I’ve been really impressed with his throwing, it’s not as easy as what he makes it look like.”