Minnesota Twins: Alex Kirilloff making up for lost time

Coming back from a year off the field, Minnesota Twins prospect Alex Kirilloff is hitting his groove in his first taste of full-season ball.

The Minnesota Twins have made some excellent selections the last two seasons in the draft. Many know about how well #1 overall selection Royce Lewis fared last season in his pro debut, but after having Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2017, 2016 top selection Alex Kirilloff had been seemingly forgotten. He’s working to refresh a lot of memories.

After a bit of a rough start to the season, Kirilloff has taken off in his last two games for the Minnesota Twins low-A affiliate in Cedar Rapids. His past two games combined have led to 5 hits over 10 at bats, with 2 home runs and 9 RBI. On Wednesday night, he pounded out a 3 for 5 night with 2 home runs and 6 RBI to firmly announce his return to the prospect conscious.

First season in the organization

With a father who is a well-regarded coach, Kirilloff was a guy that was high on many draft evaluators’ boards coming into the 2016 draft. His smooth, repeatable stroke had plenty of loft, covered the plate, and left few holes to be exploited, leaving many to think he would be able to hit for both power and average.

The big question was always where Kirilloff would profile. With an arm that would flash plus and consistently graded average or above, he could handle the outfield, and his long strides and above-average speed underway made that a reasonable fit. However, he was lean and long-limbed at 6’2″, so many thought he might be destined eventually for first base.

After the Minnesota Twins selected him with the 15th overall selection in 2016, they sent him to their advanced rookie level team in Elizabethton. Typically, the Appalachian League is filled with second-year high school players and recent college draftees, but rather than showing his lack of experience comparatively, Kirilloff instead won the league’s player of the year award after hitting .306/.341/.454 with 7 home runs over 55 games.

Most importantly, the Minnesota Twins coaching staff at Elizabethton had Kirilloff play outfield only when he was on the field, and he even played a dozen of his 55 games in center field, though most of them were in right field.

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Future

Kirilloff returned this spring showing his typical excellent swing. After the injury to his throwing elbow, the question was where the Minnesota Twins would play him, especially after selecting Brent Rooker with their competitive balance pick at the end of the first round in 2017. Rooker’s likely to transition to first base this season or next and has his future there, meaning the hope was that Kirilloff would handle the outfield.

So far, so good on that front. While it’s only 9 chances on the young season, Kirilloff has played right field in 3 of the 5 games he’s played, and he’s moved well and thrown well on his chances. It will be interesting to track how he does when he has to make a strong throw to the plate or to third base from right field, but for now, he looks healthy, and the bat is certainly going well.

While some are concerned that Kirilloff hasn’t walked yet in the 2018 season, two things should be considered. First, it’s just 23 plate appearances into the season. Second is that Kirilloff has a very bat-aggressive approach at the plate, likely not taking a ton of walks, but also not striking out a ton either, which is a very impressive skill for a guy who projects with at least above-average power as he develops up the system.

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Kirilloff has a tremendous future with the Minnesota Twins, and if he can show his bat to be back 100%, he could move very quickly this season and see the upper minors even by the end of the season.