5 Blue Jays players that have been major disappointments this season

Alejandro Kirk

Coming off an impressive breakout season in 2022, Alejandro Kirk was set to take off for the Blue Jays for 2023 as one of their primary catchers on the roster. After all, not only was Kirk a first-time All-Star, he also won his first ever Silver Slugger award by batting .285 with a .786 OPS, along with 59 runs scored, 19 doubles, 14 home runs, 63 RBI, 63 walks and only 58 strikeouts in 139 games played. He was so impressive that we even named him as one of the most important players for the Jays’ future at one point in time.

However, the 2023 season has turned out to be quite the disappointment so far for Kirk. Not only has he been unable to build upon his growth from the previous season, he has even lost playing time now to Danny Jansen, who has been clutch for the Jays thus far. For 2023, Kirk has struggled to a .247 batting average, along with a .667 OPS, with 23 runs scored, six home runs, 30 RBI, 29 walks and 34 strikeouts in 95 games played. He is currently on pace for less than 10 home runs and 40 RBI for the season, while batting almost 20 points below his career average.

Despite the down season, the good part is that Kirk is still at the young age of 24, so he still has plenty of time to develop and work on his hitting approach at the plate to mould himself into a more consistent hitter over time. Added to the fact that the Jays also have Jansen in the mix, it gives Kirk some extra leeway in maturing his game so that he can be the potent contributor we saw in 2022 once again in the near future.