Alejandro Kirk

Alejandro Kirk (born November 6, 1998) is a Mexican professional baseball catcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is ranked 6th on Major League Baseball's 2021 Top 30 Blue Jays prospects list.[1]

Alejandro Kirk
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 85
Catcher
Born: (1998-11-06) November 6, 1998
Tijuana, Mexico
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 12, 2020, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Batting average.375
Home runs1
Runs batted in3
Teams

Early life

Kirk began playing baseball at three years of age. His little league team was coached by his father.[2]

Professional career

Kirk was signed by the Blue Jays as an international free agent in 2016, and made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Blue Jays in 2017, appearing in one game.[3] He played the entire 2018 season with the Rookie Advanced Bluefield Blue Jays, and recorded a .354 batting average with 10 home runs and 57 runs batted in (RBI) in 58 games. Kirk also walked more than he struck out, finishing the season with 33 and 21 respectively.[3] He was promoted to the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts to begin the 2019 season, and later earned a promotion to the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays, where he finished the year. In 92 total games played, Kirk hit .290 with seven home runs, 44 RBI, and 56 walks against just 39 strikeouts.[3] On February 7, 2020, the Blue Jays invited Kirk to spring training.[4]

Kirk was expected to begin the 2020 minor league season with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, however the season was delayed and ultimately cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. He was added to the team's taxi squad on September 1, 2020.[5] On September 11, Kirk was called up by the Blue Jays.[6] He made his debut the following night, and recorded his first MLB hit.[7] On September 21, 2020, he recorded four hits and his first home run in the majors. He also became the first catcher 21 or younger to hit four hits in a game since Joe Mauer in 2004.[8] Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, Kirk batted .375 with one home run and 3 RBIs in 9 games.[9]

References
  1. "MLB 2021 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. McGrath, Kaitlyn (February 26, 2020). "Alejandro Kirk drawing attention at Blue Jays camp with his size, play and personality". The Athletic. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  3. "Alejandro Kirk Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  4. Brudnicki, Alexis (February 7, 2020). "Pearson part of Toronto's non-roster invites to ST". MLB.com. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  5. McGrath, Kaitlyn (September 11, 2020). "Blue Jays usher in Alejandro Kirk era with bold move to call up young catcher". The Athletic. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  6. "Blue Jays reinstate Ken Giles from IL, promote Alejandro Kirk". Sportsnet. September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  7. Haim, Mike (September 12, 2020). "Blue Jays seal win over Mets with a pickoff in rookie Alejandro Kirk's debut". thestar.com. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  8. Matheson, Keegan (September 22, 2020). "He's 5-foot-8, 265 lbs. And yes, he mashes". MLB.com. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  9. https://www.mlb.com/player/alejandro-kirk-672386?stats=career-r-hitting-mlb&year=2020
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