Alejandro Kirk’s improved bat speed paying off

TORONTO – Physics is astatine the bosom of baseball.

Take a 96.9 m.p.h. fastball from Ryan Pepiot, adhd Alejandro Kirk’s bat moving astatine 75.1 m.p.h., and it equals a 407-foot three-run homer to springiness the Toronto Blue Jays a 3-1 triumph implicit the Tampa Bay Rays connected Wednesday. Kirk has ne'er been swinging the bat faster and the Blue Jays catcher said helium knew what helium was looking for from Pepiot.

“I was connected clip connected the fastball, I was looking for that fastball,” said Kirk done translator Hector Lebron. “He has a bully fastball. He throws that fastball careless of the count.

“I conscionable wanted to marque definite that I was connected clip for that fastball, and helium enactment that fastball close down the middle.”

Kirk’s mean bat velocity this play is up to 71.9 m.p.h., the highest its been since MLB’s Baseball Savant website began tracking the metric. Kirk’s batting mean improved to. 293 with 2 hits connected Wednesday, 8 points amended than his mean successful 2022 erstwhile helium made his lone all-star crippled appearance. He has 3 homers and 16 runs batted successful truthful acold this year.

It’s a stark betterment to past twelvemonth erstwhile Kirk deed .253, with conscionable 5 location runs and 54 RBIs. His mean bat velocity successful 2023 and 2024 was 70.1 m.p.h.

“That’s benignant of the champion mentation of Kirk when, I think, he’s truly good, he’s controlling the zone, and he’s doing a bully occupation of that,” said Toronto manager John Schneider. “He’s taking truly intentful swings, he’s hitting the shot harder than helium ever has, and his bat velocity and things similar that that you could measure.

“I deliberation him being alert of that is beauteous important too.”

Wednesday was Kirk’s archetypal crippled backmost successful the Blue Jays lineup since Sunday erstwhile helium near Toronto’s 9-1 triumph successful the 3rd inning. Kirk was down the sheet erstwhile Mariners slugger Julio Rodriguez’s backswing caught him connected apical of his catcher’s helmet. The 26-year-old Kirk was removed from that crippled arsenic a precaution successful lawsuit helium was concussed by the blow.

“When you get deed connected the caput similar that, you privation to marque definite that you that are OK,” said Kirk. “On the Sunday was good, the time disconnected was good, and I did each my activities yesterday. Everything was normal.

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“The doctor, springiness maine the greenish airy and I’m feeling bully close now.”

BASSITT’S RULE CHANGE — Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt was sickened erstwhile helium saw Kirk instrumentality the bat disconnected his helmet and had a extremist proposition aft Wednesday’s crippled to forestall much accidents similar that.

“I’m beauteous adamant erstwhile I accidental it astir apt should beryllium a regularisation alteration where, if the hitter does that to a catcher, I deliberation it should automatically beryllium an out,” said Bassitt. “(Hitters are) rapidly gonna alteration a swing.

“I mean, a bat is simply a weapon, you can’t beryllium retired of control. If you’re retired of control, you’re out. Fix it. You can’t person guys get deed successful the head.”

Bassitt said helium wasn’t singling Rodriguez out, but that it’s a regular occurrence crossed Major League Baseball, particularly with hitters that person a one-handed travel through.

This study by The Canadian Press was archetypal published May 14, 2025.