Kirk is a keeper

Steve Phillips

TSN Baseball Insider

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This year’s MLB All-Star Game is at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 19. The Midsummer Classic is going to be quite an event.

One of the biggest surprises in the first release of fan voting results this week is that Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is leading the voting at his position. In fact, he’s leading in a substantial fashion:

1. Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays: 1,057,008
2. Jose Trevino, Yankees: 387,983
3. Salvador Perez, Royals: 266,604
4. Martín Maldonado, Astros: 231,005
5. Christian Vázquez, Red Sox: 199,010

Kirk has 35 per cent of the vote, with Jose Trevino next closest with just 13 per cent. It is the biggest lead at any position.

Kirk has an American League-leading 2.2 fWAR and 2.9 bWAR for catchers and is hitting .307/.395/.487. He’s become a very tough out at the major-league level, just like he was at the minor-league level.

Kirk has extraordinary plate discipline, as evidenced by his 27 walks to 22 strikeouts. He only strikes out one out of every 10 at-bats. Plus, his power production is starting to develop, as he has hit five of his eight home runs in June. He is also better defensively than I expected, grading out slightly above average at the catcher position.

He has become the protection the Jays needed behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. In fact, Vlad is thriving with Kirk behind him in the order, having just been named the AL Player of the Week. In an interesting move in the game on Tuesday against Chicago, White Sox manager Tony La Russa chose to pitch to Guerrero with runners on second and third and two outs rather than walking him to face Kirk. That is respect.

Kirk doesn’t quite look the part of MLB star, which makes the 5-foot-8, 265-pound backstop even more endearing to fans across the game. He looks different, which makes him interesting and worthy of recognition for his performance on the field.

Kirk is a keeper. So is Gabby Moreno, the young Jays’ prospect who was called up when Danny Jansen broke a bone in his hand. Jansen may be a chip the Jays end up moving at the trade deadline.

Blue Jays must bolster pitching

As each game is played, clubs learn more about their strengths and weaknesses.

It’s clear the Blue Jays are a productive offensive team. They rank third in runs per game (4.68) in the American League. The starting rotation is 25-16 and is ranked seventh with a 3.74 ERA. The bullpen is 14-14 with a 4.41 ERA, which is ranked 13th in the AL, and is tied for the second most blown saves. The Jays have played in 27 one-run games (17-10 ) which is tied for the most in baseball. They have the fourth-best fielding percentage in the league as well.

With the injury to Hyun Jin Ryu, the struggles of Yusei Kikuchi, and the workload concerns for Ross Stripling, the Jays have a clear need for more starting pitching. The starters who will be on the market and are worthy of the Jays consideration are:

Frankie Montas, Oakland Athletics

Montas is a 29-year-old right-handed pitcher who is a workhorse. He’s an innings-eater and a competitor. He throws a fastball in the 95-98 mph range. He also features a slider like Alek Manoah and a split like Kevin Gausman. He won’t be a free agent until after the 2023 season, so any team that acquires him will get a year and a half of performance and a chance to try and sign him for the long term. It will take a big package of talent to acquire him.

Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds

Like Montas, he is controllable through the 2023 season. He features a fastball in the upper 90s with movement. He also has a slider, but his put-away pitch is his deceptive changeup. The 29-year-old righty has had shoulder issues dating back to spring training. The Reds will ask for a big package in return. I expect them to trade him sooner rather than later to avoid any new injury issues.

Pablo Lopez, Miami Marlins

There is plenty of chatter that Lopez could be moved. I don’t quite understand why, since he under control through the 2024 season, is extremely affordable, and is just 26 years old. His out pitch is a very deceptive changeup. He doesn’t throw as hard as Montas or Castillo, but his changeup makes his fastball play like its thrown harder. If he is available, the extra year of control would be very appealing to the Jays.

Martin Perez, Texas Rangers

He is the most affordable of the group as he signed a one-year deal for $4 million. The veteran lefty is still just 31 years old. He’s been a decent pitcher for most of his career but has elevated his game significantly this season. Perez has a long track record of being pretty good, just not this good (1.96 ERA, 3.2 WAR). Perez might be the most affordable of the group as he is a free agent at the end of the season and his future performance is a bit of a wild card 

There are a few other names who could be available, but they don’t necessarily upgrade the Jays’ current depth. That list includes Tyler Mahle of the Cincinnati Reds, Merrill Kelly and Zach Davies of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jose Quintana of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Marco Gonzalez of the Seattle Mariners.

Spitting Seeds

- Speaking of the All-Star voting, Blue Jays fans deserve a tip of the hat for supporting their players. Kirk, Guerrero, Bo Bichette and George Springer all seem destined to be elected to the game. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez are just on the outside of the leaders in the outfield. Even the injured Jansen, who is listed among the designated hitters, has received more than 200,000 votes. The Jays could really make a statement in Los Angeles. 

- The New York Mets have been terrific so far this season. They’ve gotten off to a great start and they have been able to sustain success despites some key injuries. They sit atop the NL East (45-26, 4 games ahead) The good news is that no team will make bigger trade deadline acquisitions than the Mets. Ace pitchers Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are both working their way back to the mound. Scherzer may rejoin the team on the weekend in Miami and make a start against the Marlins. It sounds like deGrom is a bit further away, but he may be back just before the All-Star break. They will be the team to beat in the National League.

- Friday is a key day in the future of the New York Yankees. It’s the day the organization will be taking their best player to an arbitration hearing. Normally, arbitration cases are done and over with before the season begins, but the cases have dragged into the regular season this year due to the lockout. So, this is the day that Judge’s agent will sell how great his client is and the Yankees brass will say Judge is great, but not that great. The club has offered him a $17 million salary, while Judge’s camp filed for $21 million. Under normal circumstances the process can be damaging, but this has a chance to be extremely painful as it could mean that Judge’s days as a Yankee are limited.  All AL East opponents are hoping that Judge is offended and wants to leave the Bronx at the end of the season.

- The AL Central race is going to be interesting. The Twins (39-32) raced out to an early lead but have since cooled off. The Chicago White Sox (33-35) haven’t gotten any traction this season and seem to be competing against themselves more than their opponents. The Cleveland Guardians (36-29) fell off in the month of May but have gotten hot since May 30. They have gone 17-4 during that time led by their outstanding pitching and just enough offence. The division is wide open. I picked the White Sox to win, and I am going to stick with that, as they have the best roster in the division. But they better start to make up ground (4.5 games back), so the front office is motivated to make trade deadline additions to help fortify their chances.