Alejandro Kirk has been catching more and hitting less. The Jays have zero complaints, and the bat’s coming around

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This article was published 07/05/2022 (1282 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CLEVELAND—The plan was for Alejandro Kirk to be a significant piece of the Blue Jays offence this season, but things haven’t started as smoothly as everyone would have liked. In the shadows of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though, the 23-year-old’s bat may be turning back into something that sweet dreams are made of.

You could see the signs in his first two at-bats in Thursday’s opener of the four-game set in Ohio, when he flied out to the warning track in right field and lined hard to second base. The payoff came in his third at-bat, a no-doubt blast to left field for his first home run of the season.

After Friday’s rainout, Kirk hit the ground running Saturday with a three-hit performance in the opener of a doubleheader. He went hitless in the nightcap, but drove the ball hard the other way once again, a fly ball that was almost played into a double by Cleveland right-fielder Franmil Reyes.

Before he took the field Saturday, Kirk could feel things starting to click.

“Definitely,” the catcher said in advance of the double-dip. “Those two at-bats (Thursday) were key. I felt very good. It’s not where I want to be yet, but I’m definitely having better at-bats and better results.”

It may have taken Kirk longer than usual to get things going because he’s been asked to do a whole lot more behind the plate than was expected.

Starting catcher Danny Jansen went down after the third game of the season with an oblique injury. With Zack Collins having just arrived in a trade with the White Sox and Tyler Heineman only having worked with the Jays’ pitchers through spring training, Kirk was thrust into an everyday role. He caught 12 of the first 13 games in Jansen’s absence. This for a guy who only caught 40 big-league games all of last season.

“I think it probably took him a little bit of time to get used to the actual physical workload of doing it that much,” said Jays bench coach John Schneider, who caught for six years in the minor leagues. “It takes a toll on anyone when you’re catching that much.”

“It’s definitely difficult,” agreed Heineman, a 10-year minor-league veteran. “When you’re not used to catching that many games in a row … it makes you a little bit more tired. Probably your legs are more tired, and your reaction time slows down a little bit. Once he gets used to that, I feel like he’s going to start taking off.”

The stress of the heavy workload showed in the numbers. Even though Kirk got on base at an above-average .339 clip in April, there was no thump. It was his first month in the major leagues without an extra-base hit.

“The slugging is out of my control,” explained Kirk. “I always try to have good at-bats, make good contact, (but) after that it’s out of my control.”

He wouldn’t use the heavy early-season workload as an excuse — he has caught 18 of the 26 games since Jansen got hurt, over a span of 27 days — but he did concede that something wasn’t right.

“At the beginning (of the season),” said Kirk, “I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable. I didn’t have the rhythm that I wanted. But the last few games I’ve started feeling pretty good.”

He may have been struggling with the power numbers, but that might be because he was busy making himself into a much stronger defensive catcher.

“The strides he’s made defensively have been awesome to see,” marvelled Jansen, who is working his way back from that oblique strain. “He’s one of the best receivers around (as well as) blocking and handling the staff. It’s been great to see.”

Schneider has appreciated the improvement as well.

“It started in 2020,” recalled Schneider, “where it was a crash course of everything. For a young guy, he has really taken it and run with it (and) earned the trust of all the pitchers. We really feel comfortable with him back there and trust that he knows what he’s doing. It’s been really cool to watch.”

Heineman, who knew of Kirk’s reputation at a bat-first catcher when he signed with the Jays, loves what he’s seen from him behind the plate.

“I think he’s been doing an outstanding job,” said the elder statesman of the catching corps. “He’s really been receiving the ball well, calling a great game and really handling the staff incredibly well. I’ve been very impressed, from top to bottom.”

While the defence remains top shelf — Kirk has also become one of the best pitch-framers in the game, according to Statcast — the bat is coming around. Kirk is hitting .333 so far in May, with a double and a homer in six games. Incredibly, he has walked more than he has struck out, with 10 bases on balls against only eight strikeouts in 74 at-bats.

Sweet dreams, indeed — as the Eurythmics, recently inducted by rock and roll’s shrine, used to sing. Who are we to disagree?

THREE THINGS

Three things you need to know about the Jays’ doubleheader split in Cleveland on Saturday, an 8-3 Jays win in the opener and an 8-2 Guardians win in the nightcap:

It comes and goes

It appeared as though the Jays had taken care of their season-opening offensive issues with two big rallies in the first game.

Matt Chapman doubled with two out in the second inning and, a couple of walks later, the bases were loaded for the No. 9 hitter, Raimel Tapia, who delivered a two-run single. George Springer followed with a two-run double and the Jays had their biggest inning in 11 games.

The bottom three in the order — Santiago Espinal, Kirk and Tapia — led off the fourth with three straight singles, leading to a three-run inning.

It seemed the outbursts would continue in the second game when Springer led off with a single and scored on a Bo Bichette double, but the Jays couldn’t manage a hit after the second inning.

A free pass at last

Kevin Gausman issued his first walk of the season in the opener, putting Reyes aboard on four pitches with two out in the fourth inning. Reyes was the 137th batter Gausman faced this season. Only Jimmy Key (twice in 1990) and Jesse Litsch (2008) have had longer stretches without issuing a walk in Blue Jays history. Key holds the club record with 147 batters faced.

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Gausman, through six starts, has a sparkling 2.13 ERA and a 1.000 ratio (walks and hits to innings pitched) with 46 strikeouts in 38 innings. And he has yet to allow a home run.

Convincing conversion

Anthony Gose, who was a young centre-fielder with a rocket arm for the Jays from 2012 to 2014, came out of the Guardians bullpen to pitch the seventh inning of the opener.

Gose, now 31, was making his 15th major-league appearance as a pitcher after converting to the mound for good in 2019. He threw a hitless inning, walking Guerrero but striking out Bo Bichette and Bradley Zimmer. The left-hander threw 14 fastballs, seven of which hit 97 miles per hour.

Mike Wilner is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star and host of the baseball podcast “Deep Left Field.” Follow him on Twitter: @wilnerness