Blue Jays All-Star Slugger Projected to Have Career Year in 2026

Can a star slugger outperform a great year from 2025 for the Toronto Blue Jays?

Apr 16, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A Toronto Blue Jays hat and glove in the dugout during a game against the Atlanta Braves at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

With pitchers and catchers reporting and spring training nearly here, the Toronto Blue Jays will be excited to get the 2026 campaign rolling. 

Following a busy winter, the Blue Jays will be hoping that they were able to do enough this offseason in order to defend the American League East crown and also make a trip back to the World Series. This was a team that might have overachieved last year, but they didn’t sit on their hands this winter and tried to improve the roster. 

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Toronto spent a lot of money on free agents this offseason with a focus on improving their pitching staff. The additions of Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce will help the rotation, while Tyler Rogers will help the bullpen. 

The Blue Jays will be hoping that some of the new faces make a positive impact, they will also be hoping that key players are able to replicate great campaigns from 2025. One of those players will be their talented catcher.

According to FanGraph projections, star catcher Alejandro Kirk is projected to have his best season yet with Toronto. 

Kirk Projected to Have Career-Year

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Coming off a really strong campaign in 2026, the talented catcher of the Blue Jays is projected to have arguably his best year yet, according to projections. FanGraphs has him slashing .273/.350/.423 with 15 home runs and 63 RBI. When factoring in his excellent defense as well, he is projected to have an fWAR of 4.9. 

With a projected OPS at nearly .800 to pair with his elite defensive ability, Kirk would be trending toward being an All-Star at this time of season. After a couple of so-so campaigns in 2023 and 2024, he was really good for Toronto last year and was a major reason why they were able to have the success that they did. 

Due to the team losing Bo Bichette to free agency and Anthony Santander to injury already this winter, having another strong offensive year from Kirk is going to be key. Shockingly, this is a team that might be lacking a bit in the lineup compared to last season, and their star catcher contributed as he did offensively, which will be helpful. 

Even though the 2025 campaign was a great one for Kirk, at 27 years old, there is reason to believe that he can be even better for the Blue Jays this season.