Blue Jays Have Found Both Hitting and Fielding Success From Their Catcher Position
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The Toronto Blue Jays have had an extremely interesting season, sitting in second place among American League East teams with a 25-25 record to their name. The roster has talent that has been producing, but they have also had moments of weakness that have led to them sitting right around .500 for much of the spring. Coming off a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres, they lost their first matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays, sending them right back to the middle of the pack.
One of the bright spots of the team has been their catcher duo between Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman, both of whom have been truly spectacular in their own right this season. The most impressive part is that they have been great both at the plate and behind the dish calling the shots, which makes for one of the most fun to watch tandems in all of baseball.
A lack of power hitting has been the biggest setback for the team, however, and these two are not exempt from that. Thankfully, they have found ways to improve the team without exceptional home run stats, and this has given the club some life early on that they have turned into momentum at times. Good catching groups can turn around a franchise, as they are few and far between. Luckily the Blue Jays have found two quality catchers of their own.
What Level of Production Have the Catchers Had This Season?
Starting off with Kirk, he has been solid at the plate, slashing .283/.323/.372 with 18 RBI, nine runs, three home runs and 17 strikeouts to eight walks. Where he really displays his talent is behind the batter's box, though, as according to Baseball Savant, he is 90th percentile in blocks above average with four, 90th percentile in caught stealing above average with three, and 95th percentile in framing.
As for Heineman, he has been a bit of the opposite, slashing .396/.412/.542 with 10 runs, six RBI, one home run, a 169 OPS+ and 10 strikeouts to two walks. While he only has 19 games under his belt this year, he has been exceptional in all of them, and his defensive capabilities are not bad whatsoever. While he does not have any blocks above average, putting him right around league average, he has three steals caught above average (92nd percentile), 71st percentile framing, and 83rd percentile pop time (1.92 seconds).
Both of these players are core pieces of the franchise heading forward this season, and if they can maintain the level of success they have had through the summer months, they could find themselves with truly impressive seasons on their record.
Jeremy Trottier started his writing journey with WBLZ Media, and has worked through multiple publications with 247Sports, USA Today, Fansided, SBNation and others. He is an avid fan of motorsports and most sports in general, and has completed a degree in sports management to further understand the sports industry. During his time with sports media, he has been credentialed for coverage of Boston College sports, and can often be found attending their football and basketball games as well as expected coverage of their men’s soccer team in the near future. Sports are a large part of his life and career, as he looks to pursue a full time role within the industry someday.