Fantastic 2025 Campaign Boosts Blue Jays Catcher Alejandro Kirk’s Ranking for 2026
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The Toronto Blue Jays knew they had a talented player in catcher Alejandro Kirk before the 2025 campaign got underway, but he was handsomely ranked within the Top 10 among the league's best catchers, holding down spot eight.
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Following his stellar 2025 campaign that helped get the Blue Jays to their first World Series since 1993, Kirk saw his eighth rank improve three spots in the Top 10, as MLB.com has now officially ranked him as a Top 5 catcher in Major League Baseball, only bested by Cal Raleigh, William Contreras, Will Smith, and Drake Baldwin.
Breaking Down Kirk's All-Star 2025
Kirk had been an All-Star before, earning his first nod back in 2022. He also brought in the Silver Slugger Award for the position in the American League, hitting 14 home runs, driving in 63 RBIs with a .285 AVG. While he finished with a career-high 4.0 WAR that season, Kirk was arguably a better hitter in 2025.
Playing in 130 games, Kirk set a new career high in home runs with 15, drove in a career high 76 RBIs, while hitting .282 at the plate with an OPS of .769. Kirk rarely strikes out, walks enough, and puts the ball in play. The only true downside to his game is that he's not the fastest player in the world.
In the playoffs, Kirk hit .252 and further proved he was a massive piece to getting Toronto to the World Series, which only helped his case in these rankings. On top of a respectable average, Kirk hit five home runs and drove in 13 RBIs in 18 games this past October.
Defensively, that's where Kirk shines. According to Baseball Savant, he had the best blocks above average among any catcher in the MLB, as well as ranking in the 98th percentile in framing, an art used well in the playoffs.
With the Automatic Ball-Strike System likely to come to Major League Baseball soon, Kirk's framing art could take a hit, but that doesn't mean he's not a talented catcher. He had an above-average pop time at 1.95 seconds, which allowed 69 base runners to swipe a bag against him this season.
Going into 2026, Kirk is making $8.7 million as he will look to be the leader behind the plate again. For a Blue Jays pitching staff that looks to be one of the top in the MLB for 2026, Kirk behind the plate should only give him a chance to climb the ranks to potentially be seen as a top-three catcher for 2027.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.