TORONTO — At the end of last season, Alejandro Kirk and the Toronto Blue Jays coaching staff sat down with the goal of helping the catcher improve defensively. Kirk had turned himself into an elite receiver and blocker over the past several years, however, the one area that could be worked on was his ability to control the running game.
“There’s always room for improvement and we identified that the real area to improve was his throwing,” says Luis Hurtado, bullpen catcher for the Blue Jays.
Kirk spent time last November at the team’s player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., where Hurtado and Co. introduced plyo balls into his routine with the goal of developing arm strength and speed.
The new throwing program included Kirk throwing a 10-ounce ball eight times, followed by 12 reps with a six-ounce ball and then 10 throws with a four-ouncer. Once he completed that progression Kirk could then move on to his regular throws.
The catcher travelled back home to Mexico and continued with the routine during his daily off-season training. And now, with the season’s official second half set to begin Friday, it’s clear that Kirk’s arm has improved. That’s a positive for the Blue Jays, whose catching situation could change in the coming days.
There’s a possibility the club trades impeding free agent Danny Jansen before the July 30 deadline, and, if that’s the case, Kirk would assume a heavier workload. If the catcher continues to round out his already impressive defensive game, that would only serve to help the organization as it maps out its future behind the plate.
“My arm feels great,” Kirk said recently through interpreter Hector Lebron. “And that’s the way we want to keep it through the year.”
Kirk has posted a Caught Stealing Above Average of three this season, which ranks behind just four other catchers (Dodgers backstop Will Smith leads MLB with six). Kirk has never posted a CS Above Average above zero and, additionally, his 28 per cent caught stealing percentage represents a career high.
“I’m not going to say my new program has helped me throw the ball harder but it’s made me more consistent,” says Kirk, who’s in the midst of his fifth MLB season. “I definitely feel a lot better this year.”
Kirk has been deliberate with his plyo ball routine and plays catch with Hurtado before every game, focusing on the weighted throws as well as using his back leg to create more power. The goal is for Kirk’s throws to measure 75 m.p.h. or higher and right now, the club’s internal metrics show he’s averaging just under that.
Hurtado has confidence Kirk will meet that goal by the end of the season and should he do so, it’ll be one small positive during a Blue Jays’ campaign that’s featured very few.
“His work ethic is tremendous,” says Hurtado of Kirk. “He’s always there, he always wants to get better, he always wants to work. He’s one of the best listeners who always applies what you tell him to make adjustments.”