A rocket here, a laser beam there. At first, a hard-contact parade. Then, suddenly, a groundball machine. Yusei Kikuchi's Blue Jays debut featured a little bit of everything, which was to be expected. (ArdenZwelling)
Of course, Kikuchi’s upside is obvious. His mid-90s fastball is uncommonly heavy among left-handed starters; his hard cutter and biting slider both feature above-average movement; his split-changeup produced a nearly 40 per cent whiff rate last season, the fourth-highest among MLB starters.
Which is where the oblique injury Danny Jansen picked up Sunday on his final swing of his final at-bat comes in. And clearly not in a good way. Jansen worked with Kikuchi on his many adjustments all spring and would have been catching him Tuesday if not for landing on the 10-day injured list. And Jansen isn’t returning any time soon, which means Kikuchi will have to continue the process with catchers who lack familiarity with him.
And we forget just how young he is. Kirk’s the second-youngest player on Toronto’s 28-man roster — incredibly, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s a year younger entering his fourth MLB season — and the fourth-youngest on its 40-man. The 23-year-old’s heart rate is just so low at the plate, and he’s demonstrated such poise in high-pressure moments, that it’s easy to overlook how new this all is to him.
That’s why you’ve seen Kirk continue to make the developmental jumps he has. He’s literally growing up in the majors. Every day brings a new lesson in reading swings, making adjustments and shaping strike zones. New strategies, concepts, even terminologies. Kirk’s English has improved substantially since his debut, and he’s grown progressively more comfortable expressing himself and offering insights during Toronto’s daily pitchers-and-catchers meetings.
. We already know how it helped Robbie Ray win a Cy Young award. Maybe the next move is to pair Kirk with Kikuchi and find out if he can help the bewildering left-hander take another step.
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