Alejandro Kirk’s improved bat speed pay

Toronto – Physics is the core of baseball.

Take a 96.9 mph Fastball from Ryan Pepiot, add the bat from Alejandro Kirk with 75.1 km / h, and it is equal to a 407-foot three-run homer to give the Toronto Blue Jays a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Kirk never slept the bat faster and the Blue Jays Catcher said he knew what he was looking for from Pepiot.

“I was on the Fastball on time, I was looking for that fastball,” said Kirk through translator Hector LeBron. “He has a good fastball. He throws Fastball regardless of the count.

“I just wanted to make sure that I was on time for that fastball, and he put that fastball in the middle.”

Kirk’s average bat speed this season is a maximum of 71.9 km / h, it has been the highest since MLB’s baseball Savant website started following the metric. Kirk’s stroke average improved to. 293 with two hits on Wednesday, eight points better than his average in 2022 when he made his only all-star game appearance. He has three homers and 16 points that have been beaten so far this year.

It is a grim improvement from last year when Kirk .253 struck, with only five home runs and 54 RBIs. His average bat speed in 2023 and 2024 was 70.1 mph

“That is a kind of best version of Kirk when, I think, he is really good, he checks the zone, and he does that well,” said Toronto manager John Schneider. “He really takes swings, he gets the ball harder than he ever has, and his bat speed and such things that you could measure.

“I think he is aware of that, is also quite important.”

On Wednesday, Kirk’s first match was back in the Blue Jays-Line-Up since Sunday when he left Toronto’s 9-1 victory in the third inning. Kirk was behind the album when Mariners Slugger Julio Rodriguez’s Backswing caught him on the helmet of his catcher. The 26-year-old Kirk was removed from that match as a precautionary measure in case he became brisk shaked by the blow.

“If you are hit like that, you want to make sure you are doing well,” said Kirk. “On Sunday was good, the day off was good, and I did all my activities yesterday. Everything was normal.

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“The doctor, give me the green light and I feel good now.”

Bassitt’s Rule Change – Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt was sick when he saw Kirk remove the bat from his helmet and after Wednesday’s game had a radical suggestion to prevent more accidents.

“I am pretty false when I say that it should probably be a control change, where, if the batter does to a catcher, I think it should be one off,” Bassitt said. “(Hitters are) quickly change a swing.

“I mean, a bat is a weapon, you can’t get out of hand. If you are out of hand, you’ll be gone. Solve it up. You can’t get a boy in the head.”

Bassitt said that he did not hold Rodriguez, but that it is a regular event in Major League Baseball, especially with batters who have a through -ahead followers.

This report from the Canadian Press was first published on May 14, 2025.

& copy 2025 The Canadian Press