The Toronto Blue Jays haven't had the season they expected. They fired Charlie Montoyo after struggling to keep up with the rest of the division, but that doesn't mean everything has failed thus far.
If anything, the Canadian side has had some bright spots on their roster, headlined by Cy Young candidate Alek Manoah, and also including Mexican catcher Alejandro Kirk.
They've Found Success Together
Manoah credits Kirk partially for his meteoric rise through Major League Baseball. He was a first-round pick and is now their number-one starter, but he trusts Kirk to make adjustments more than anybody else:
“He’s very in tune with what I’m trying to do. He’s very, very focused,” Manoah told The Athletic. “I give him a game plan and he wants to attack it just as much as I do. And sometimes he’ll even tweak the game plan, like ‘Hey, no, let’s not throw that, I don’t like that.’ But he’ll tell me why. He’s very logical as well."They're The Ultimate Team
A great pitcher is only as good as his catcher, and Manoah is well aware of that. He gives him credit for half of the success he's found this season:
"The energy that he brings behind the plate, he’s very energetic. He speaks to me a lot and I feel like he’s in control of his 50 percent and I’m in control of my 50 percent and it goes good together," Manoah concluded.Danny Jansen Lauds Kirk
Kirk has earned plenty of praise and recognition around the clubhouse. Even fellow Catcher Danny Jansen knows he's got the chance to have a long, successful career in the Majors:
“The biggest part of being a catcher is building that trust between pitcher and catcher,” Jansen said. “In big moments, they know that you’re going to block a ball or you’ve done your homework or you get on the same page because you care and you put your work in, so that’s the biggest part about being a catcher and he’s done a great job of transforming himself to do that.”It's A Dream Come True For Him
Kirk got his first All-Star nod this season and was ecstatic to have his family around at Dodger Stadium to watch him fulfill his dream:
“It’s a dream come true,” Kirk said through a translator. “(That) my family can see me playing in an All-Star game is huge for me, it’s unbelievable.”Now, Kirk and the Blue Jays will look to straighten the ship in the second half of the season and prove that they can compete with the best of them right away.
]]>The Inquisitr
