Prospect Focus: Alex Kirilloff
The Minnesota Twins’ second-ranked prospect Alex Kirilloff hits his first two career home runs against the Royals on April 30, 2021. (via Bruce Kluckhohn/ USA TODAY Sports)
The Minnesota Twins’ second-ranked prospect Alex Kirilloff hits his first two career home runs against the Royals on April 30, 2021.
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn/ USA TODAY Sports
What’s that famous Casey Stern motto?
“Prospects are cool, parades are cooler.”
Well, every week, I’m going to focus on the “cool” part of that saying. For the nerdiest of baseball fans, one of the most exciting parts of the season is witnessing the arrival of the game’s top young talent, and the 2021 season has been chock-full of up-and-coming stars. Among those is Twins’ second-ranked prospect, Alex Kiriloff.
Kiriloff was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 2016 draft out of Plum High School in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The 23-year-old amassed an impressive .318/.366/.503 slash line in the minors leading up to his eventual arrival on the major league scene in 2021.
Kirilloff made his 2021 season debut on Apr. 14, but his season got off to a slow start after coming up hitless in his first 14 at-bats.
However, on Apr. 30, Kirilloff turned it around in a big way, slugging his first two career home runs in a game against the Royals. He went on to hit two home runs over his next two games, landing on four homers and 15 RBIs before going down with a wrist injury that caused him to miss 16 games.
via Associated Press
Up to this point in the season, Kirilloff is slashing .242/.271/.500, a stark difference compared to his minor league numbers. However, there are promising signs that success for the youngster is just over the horizon.
For starters, Kirilloff provides the Twins with much-needed defensive versatility. In the 18 games in which he’s appeared, Kirilloff has played right field, left field, as well as first base. For a team with a crowded outfield, Kirilloff could keep himself in the lineup with his ability to play all over the diamond.
Second, while Kirilloff’s initial numbers this season are a far cry from his minor league numbers, his OPS of .771 is 66 percentage points higher than the major league average of .705. That’s higher than some of the game’s biggest stars like Pete Alonso, Trevor Story and Tim Anderson. If Kirilloff can continue to get on base and hit the ball with power, the Twins have a bright future with their young star.
Finally, although Kirilloff has a mere .242 average so far this season, much of that has been due to bad luck. Kirilloff’s expected batting average (xBA), which measures the likelihood that a ball will become a hit based on its exit velocity and launch angle, is sitting at an impressive .331. Moreover, his expected slugging percentage is a whopping .735, nearly 50% greater than his current slugging percentage of .500. Unfortunately for Kirilloff, many of these “expected” hits are finding gloves, leading to the slash line we see now.
So what’s my point? Kirilloff has the potential for huge offensive output, and that production will come in time. Suffice it to say, Twins fans and baseball junkies alike have much to be excited about with Kirilloff, a young star with a bright future in the bigs.
