Toronto Blue Jays: Top Five Rookies of 2020

Good things come in small packages

4. Alejandro Kirk
The Blue Jays tiny big man, Alejandro Kirk got into just nine games and 25 plate appearances, but he is was very exciting in those at-bats.

Kirk was signed as an international free agent from Mexico when he was 18 years old, just months after the team drafted Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio.  The early scouting reports stated that the pudgy catcher could hit the ball through the lower levels of the Blue Jays organization.  In 2019, Jays Journal had the then 19-year old prospect #3 top catcher in the organization behind Danny Jansen and Gabriel Moreno.

Ha made his first appearance on September 12 against the New York Mets where he would hit 1-3 with a walk.  Days later he would make his first appearance at Yankee Stadium where he collected another hit.  Kirk impressed the coaching staff so much that he would go through a stretch of playing in four games in five days.

Kirk’s big performance came on September 21 during a game against the New York Yankees when he would go 4-4 with a home run, double and three runs scored.  On one of his singles he came inches away from having a two home run game as he put the ball off the top of the right field fence.  Kirk would finish the regular season off going 7-14 and earned a spot on the playoff roster.

In his only appearance in the Wild Card Series he was put in as the designated hitter in Game 1 and was the player that broke up Blake Snell’s no hitter in the sixth inning with a single to right field.

There are now a lot of questions about what Kirk brings to the team.  He is known as a pure hitter but lacks a strong arm behind the plate.  He doesn’t have much height or mobility to play the corner positions so he could turn into a full time designated hitter.  When a team has someone that has the amount of hitting potential that Kirk has, management tend to find a spot for him.