Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk put on a fantastic performance in a 9-5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday. The 26-year-old launched a pair of solo home runs as part of a 3-for-4, three-RBI day. Kirk entered the contest on the heels of four consecutive hitless games, during which he combined to go 0-for-16. Despite that slide, this has been a June to remember for Kirk. He's hitting a red-hot .355 (22-of-62) with four homers, four doubles, and 12 RBI in 15 games. Overall, this is the best Kirk has performed offensively since his lone All-Star and Silver Slugger campaign in 2022. He's slashing .313/.354/.442 with seven long balls, 34 RBI, and a paltry 10.7% strikeout rate in 243 trips to the plate. Kirk is easily on pace to surpass his career-high totals in HRs (14) and RBI (63).

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is not in Saturday's lineup when they continue a series against the Minnesota Twins. Kirk has started in each of the past five contests. During this stretch, Kirk posted a strong .368/.400/.474 slash line with two doubles and four RBI. He only struck out twice during this stretch. This afternoon, the Blue Jays will give Tyler Heineman the starting nod behind the dish. Heineman is slated to bat in the nine-hole. Through 51 games this season, Kirk has been productive in the batter's box, posting a .304/.352/.387 slash line with six doubles and three home runs. He has struck out at an impressive 10.1% rate and generated an elite .313 xBA. Fantasy managers should expect Kirk to return to the lineup on Sunday. This afternoon, Heineman is not worth targeting in DFS facing Minnesota right-hander Chris Paddack.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk will get the day off on Saturday versus the visiting Athletics at Rogers Centre. Ali Sanchez will do the catching for right-hander Braydon Fisher and will bat ninth against A's rookie right-hander Gunnar Hoglund. Kirk has minimal power for a catcher but is hitting a strong .296 (48-for-162) on the year as Toronto's primary catcher, including going 9-for-21 (.429) with four RBI and three runs scored in his last eight games since May 22. Sanchez, 28, will get the nod behind the plate on Saturday for just his fourth game of the season in his first year in Toronto. He's gone 2-for-8 so far with a double and three strikeouts. Sanchez has played in just 41 big-league games since debuting in 2020 with the New York Mets and has hit .181 (19-for-105) with no home runs and four RBI in 118 plate appearances.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is back in the starting lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Athletics. Kirk will make his way back into the lineup after receiving a rest day on Wednesday. He did come into Wednesday's game as a pinch-hitter, but went hitless in his lone at-bat. Now, Kirk will return behind the plate and bat in the cleanup spot against left-hander Jacob Lopez. Fantasy managers can go ahead and get Kirk back in their lineup ahead of first pitch.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk will head to the bench ahead of Wednesday's game against the Texas Rangers. Kirk will sit this game out after starting in the first two games of the series. He went 2-for-6 with an RBI during the first two contests. Ali Sanchez will cover behind the plate and bat eighth versus right-hander Tyler Mahle on Wednesday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups ahead of first pitch. Kirk figures to be back in the lineup on Thursday.

Toronto Blue Jays outfielders Daulton Varsho and Nathan Lukes, as well as catcher Alejandro Kirk, are not in Sunday's lineup when they conclude a series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Varsho has started each of their previous eight contests. During this stretch, he has held a .152/.147/.455 slash line with two doubles, one triple, and two long balls. Lukes has started each of their past nine games, primarily in left field and has held a .231/.333/.462 line during this stretch. Kirk has been Toronto's primary backstop through the opening two months of the season. He will get a routine maintenance day as he has started in each of the past two games. This afternoon, the Blue Jays are worth a look in DFS, facing Tampa Bay right-hander Ryan Pepiot, who enters this game holding a 3.99 ERA.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (head) is back behind the plate and is batting sixth on Wednesday against the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Ryan Pepiot at Rogers Centre. Kirk was hit by a bat while catching on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners and was held out for Tuesday's series opener against Tampa despite clearing concussion testing. The 26-year-old has helped fantasy managers with a strong batting average (.286) by going 34-for-119 this year, but the Mexican backstop is lacking in counting stats with only two home runs, 13 RBI and six runs scored as Toronto's primary catcher. Still, you can't discount how hot Kirk has been in May, going 13-for-31 (.419) with a double and three RBI in eight games played. He has never faced Pepiot in his career.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (head) is not in the starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Despite that, Jays' manager John Schneider said that Kirk has passed concussion protocol testing and is likely available off the bench for this game. This is good news after Kirk was hit in the head by a backswing during Sunday's contest. The expectation is that Kirk will be back in the starting lineup on Wednesday. For now, Tyler Heineman will cover behind the plate and bat eighth versus right-hander Shane Baz on Tuesday.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (head) was removed early from Sunday's game against the Seattle Mariners. Kirk was taken out following getting hit in the head on a backswing. He played another full inning before being removed from the contest. Kirk went 1-for-2 with a double before being taken out of the game. He was replaced by Tyler Heineman behind the plate for the rest of the contest. The assumption is that Kirk will go through concussion protocol. It's unclear if he'll miss any time due to this injury. If he does, Heineman figures to see additional time behind the plate. Fantasy managers will need to check back for another update on Kirk.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is out of the starting lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Seattle Mariners. Kirk saw his six-game hitting streak come to an end when he went 0-for-4 during Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. Now, Kirk will get the night off on Friday and fantasy managers are hopeful he'll begin a new hitting streak on Saturday. In the meantime, Tyler Heineman will do the catching and bat eighth versus right-hander Luis Castillo on Friday. Fantasy managers should adjust their lineups accordingly ahead of first pitch.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk and outfielder Alan Roden will take a seat on Saturday when the Blue Jays continue a series against the Cleveland Guardians. Kirk has started in each of the previous four contests. The backstop has begun to heat up at the plate, posting a strong .353/.353/.529 slash line with six total hits. Roden has not tallied a hit in each of his previous eight contests. As a result, Tyler Heineman will get the nod behind the dish, and Nathan Lukes will get the nod in left field. Fantasy managers should expect both Kirk and Roden to rejoin the starting nine on Sunday. This afternoon, both Heineman and Lukes are not worth targeting in DFS facing Cleveland right-hander Gavin Williams.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is being rested for Thursday's series finale at Fenway Park against the division-rival Boston Red Sox in the series finale. Tyler Heineman will catch right-hander Chris Bassitt and will bat eighth against Red Sox right-hander Walker Buehler. It shouldn't be surprising that Kirk is on the bench for this one after catching the entire 11-inning win over Boston on Wednesday night. The 26-year-old has gone 10-for-40 with a double, two RBI, three runs scored, no walks and six strikeouts in his first 10 games this year as Toronto's primary backstop. Fantasy managers setting DFS lineups should be able to do better than Heineman at catcher. The 33-year-old veteran does have six hits (one homer) in his first 14 at-bats this year, but he'll have little upside in the nine-hole. Heineman is hitless in just two career at-bats against Buehler.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (leg) is getting a breather on Tuesday against the division-rival Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Tyler Heineman will take over the catching duties and work with left-hander Easton Lucas while batting eighth against Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet. According to manager John Schneider, Kirk is "a little beat up, but he's fine, just a normal off day" after fouling a ball off his leg "right below the kneecap in between the knee and the shin guard." The plan all along had been to give Heineman a start on Tuesday anyway. It's possible the Jays will give Kirk an extra day off on Wednesday, so fantasy managers will want to check back on his status. Fantasy managers setting DFS lineups should be able to do better at the catcher position than Heineman, who has never faced Crochet in his career.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is not in Sunday's lineup when the Blue Jays conclude a series against the Baltimore Orioles. Kirk has started behind the dish in each of the first three games of the campaign. The 26-year-old has gone 2-for-11 at the plate with one run, one RBI, and two strikeouts. As a result, Tyler Heineman will get the nod behind the dish and bat in the eight-hole. Fantasy managers should expect Kirk to return to the starting nine on Monday when the Blue Jays play host to the Washington Nationals. Heineman appeared in just eight MLB contests last season and posted a mere .083 AVG and should not be targeted in any DFS competitions this afternoon.

The Toronto Blue Jays and catcher Alejandro Kirk agreed to a five-year, $58 millioncontract extension on Saturday. The 5-foot-8 backstop has been with the Jays' organization ever since he broke at 18 years old back in 2017 and will now be with Toronto through his age-30 season. The 2022 All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner puts the bat on the ball well, recording an 86.1 percent career contact rate and a low 11.5 percent strikeout rate, but it doesn't translate to much else, especiallyfor fantasy. The 26-year-old has seen the countingstats dwindle since his All-Star season, finishing with five home runs, 54 RBI, andonly 23 runs scored in 103 games last season. He's having a nice spring, though, slashing .302/.354/.465 with a pair of home runs and eight RBI, so perhaps he can carry that momentum into the regular season. Still, he's the 21st catchercoming off the board in drafts and has little upside, so he's really only viable in deeper and two-catcher leagues.

According to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is set to see an increased workload behind the dish during the 2025 campaign. With the team parting ways with Danny Jansen, who is now in Tampa Bay, Kirk stands alone at the top of the depth chart. Toronto manager John Schneider noted that this is the "best" version of Kirk the team has seen. Last season, Kirk logged 103 starts. Across this stint, the 26-year-old held a .253/.319/.359 line with five home runs. He showed a strong eye at the plate with a 13.2 percent strikeout rate, placing him in the 95th percentile. In addition, Kirk is an excellent defender behind the dish as he placed in the 97th percentile in caught stealing above average and the 93rd percentile in framing. Fantasy managers in two-catcher formats should consider taking a flier on Kirk late in drafts as he should see the vast majority of starts in 2025.

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman/outfielder Davis Schneider and catcher Alejandro Kirk are out of the starting lineup on Saturday against the visiting Oakland Athletics. Rookie Spencer Horwitz is starting at second base and batting cleanup, and rookie Addison Barger is in left field and in the eight-hole against A's right-hander Osvaldo Bido. Brian Serven is doing the catching and is batting ninth. Horwitz, who has handled himself nicely in 52 games in his second major-league season, is obviously the most attractive DFS option on Saturday over Barger and Serven. He hit his fifth home run of the year on Friday night and has hit a strong .282 (50-for-177) with a .793 OPS, 20 RBI and 24 runs scored in 2024. Barger, meanwhile, has struggled to the tune of a .189/.223/.322 slash line in the first 90 at-bats of his big-league career.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (elbow) is back in the starting nine on Saturday afternoon as the Blue Jays continue a series against their division rival New York Yankees. The backstop was kept out of the lineup over the past few days due to a minor elbow injury. This is a great sign as the 25-year-old began to heat up at the plate, carrying an excellent .321/.344/.377 line since July 1. Overall, through 59 games this season, Kirk has had a down season with a modest .239/.305/.321 line, but he might have begun to turn the corner. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor Kirk's progress, as he should be in line to see the majority of starts behind the dish in Toronto since the Blue Jays shipped Danny Jansen to the Red Sox. DFS players should take a look at Kirk this afternoon as he will bat in the cleanup spot and will face Yankee southpaw Carlos Rodon, who has carried a 4.05 ERA in July.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (elbow) was removed from Tuesday's game against the division-rival Baltimore Orioles due to a left elbow contusion. Kirk left Tuesday's game against Baltimore after being hit by a pitch in the sixth inning, and it's encouraging to hear that he's only dealing with a bruise. Fantasy managers should consider the 25-year-old backstop day-to-day ahead of Wednesday's contest against the O's. After hitting a sacrifice fly to center field in the fourth inning to score first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and make it a 4-1 ballgame on Tuesday, Kirk is slashing a weak .239/.305/.321 with two home runs, nine doubles, and 26 RBI in 59 games for the Blue Jays this season but is set to get all the action he can handle the rest of the way. In the aftermath of Danny Jansen being sent to the Boston Red Sox, Brian Serven is the only other traditional option behind the dish on Toronto's active roster.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is getting the day off Saturday when the club takes on the Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Zack Littell. The 25-year-old is going to receive significant playing time with fellow backstop Danny Jansen out with a wrist injury but he will give way to Brian Serven on Saturday after starting the first two games of the season. After putting up quality production in parts of his first three seasons, Kirk slipped at the plate in 2023, hitting .250 with just eight homers across 422 trips to the plate. While he boasts excellent bat-handling skills and a keen eye at the plate, Kirk's lack of power caps his fantasy value, especially when he likely falls back into a timeshare with Jansen upon his return.