Alejandro Kirk Deserves More Attention
MLB’s most underrated catcher is quietly putting together a complete and elite 2025 season
Alejandro Kirk has been one of the most underrated players and overall catchers in all of Major League Baseball. Coming into the season, I personally ranked him as my 9th-best pre-season catcher, yet I saw countless lists where he didn’t even crack the top 10 or 12. That’s quickly proving to be a massive oversight. Kirk has put together an incredible all-around 2025 campaign that deserves far more national attention.
Through his first 55 games, Kirk has slashed .325/.367/.440 across 218 plate appearances with 5 HR, 31 RBI, a 6.4% walk rate, and just a 10.1% K%. That performance has yielded a 129 wRC+ and a 2.4 fWAR, ranking him as the third-most valuable catcher in all of baseball. But his advanced profile makes the case even stronger. Kirk owns a .312 xBA (97th percentile), a 92.8 mph average exit velocity (92nd percentile), and a 55.8% hard-hit rate (top 3%). He also squares up the ball at a 35.5% clip (top 4%) and sits in the 97th percentile in K%. He currently leads all catchers in AVG (.325), K% (10.1%), Avg EV (92.8), hard-hits (101), and hard-hit% (55.8%). Even with Cal Raleigh’s league-leading 26 HR and massive fWAR total, Kirk’s consistency and quality of contact put him in elite company.
Over his last 30 games, Kirk has been arguably one of the best hitters in baseball, slashing .383/.441/.543 with a 180 wRC+ and 1.6 fWAR, the 7th highest in all of MLB during that stretch. His 64.9% hard-hit rate also leads all qualified hitters in that span. His Year-to-year improvements back it up across the board: Avg EV (89.4 — 92.8 mph), LA (10.8° — 11.0°), Barrel% (6.7% — 8.8%), Hard-Hit% (40.9% — 55.8%), wOBA (.324 — .370), and K% (13.2% — 10.1%). He’s also destroying fastballs this year, increasing his run value from -1 to +3 and improving in every major category: .352 AVG, .354 xBA, .472 SLG, .377 wOBA, and 94.4 mph EV (+4.2 mph). His groundball rate has dipped slightly (45.3% — 44.8%) while his flyball rate has increased (32.9% — 34.3%), and he’s now hitting up the middle 37.0% of the time (up from 24.2%), clear signs he’s more on time with his swing mechanics. His Ideal Contact Rate (44.6%) and Ideal Plate Appearance% (37.1%) are both career highs, and his IPA% is in the 99th percentile. His Contact% (80.7%) and O-Contact% (69.8%) are both in the top 20% in MLB. And defensively? He’s elite there, too! 1st in Fielding Run Value (10), with 9 Blocks Above Average, 3 CS Above Average, and a top-tier Framing metric (6). Alejandro Kirk isn’t just quietly elite; he’s dominating every aspect of being a Major League catcher!
Alejandro Kirk has re-emerged as one of the most complete catchers in baseball this season. Often overlooked coming into the year, he’s combined elite bat-to-ball skills with improved power and approach, consistently staying through the middle of the field and handling fastballs more effectively. His ability to make quality contact without sacrificing discipline has elevated his offensive game, while his work behind the plate in terms of framing, blocking, and throwing has made him, in my opinion, one of the best catchers to start 2025!
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