The age-old college saying “C’s get degrees” comes into play on this version of the Blue Jays’ mid-season report cards, and ironically, they were grades assigned to the catchers. While both backstops featured in this article have prominent defensive attributes, their offence has been inconsistent throughout the first half of this season, leading to middling scores.

Grade: C

2024 was and is a big season for Jansen, as he’ll be the first member of the most recent rebuild to enter free agency. Whether or not to re-sign/extend Jansen or trade him away prior to the trade deadline continues to be a discussion, but it was a more prominent topic during the first couple of months of the season given how well he was playing. He missed the first 17 games of the season recovering from a right wrist fracture, but he was mashing in Buffalo during his rehab assignment, and the team was ready to see him in the lineup.

Through April and May, Jansen played in 30 games, slashing .287/.371/.535 with a .905 OPS, five home runs, 13 RBIs, and 10 doubles. While the Blue Jays were fiddling with their lineup, his success propelled him to hit as high as second in the batting order. While it was worth the shot to provide some juice to the top of the order, he didn’t fare very well in that spot. Nonetheless, the slash line in the first couple of months was really good, and the team was happy that he was healthy.

Jansen’s June and July sang a different tone with a slash line of .145/.250/.217 and only one home run, massively weighing down his season totals. Jansen’s value has been in pulling the ball, especially with this season featuring the lowest opposite-field percentage (9.4%) of his career. He also ranks in the 98th percentile per Baseball Savant in blocking behind the plate. Jansen was one of Toronto’s consistent bats at the beginning of the season when they really needed it, but he’s been on a downward trajectory since June 3rd. The Blue Jays have a different lineup when Jansen is producing, and it’s been a while since he’s done that consistently.

Grade: C-

Underwhelming would be the word I use to describe Kirk’s season so far, and truthfully, I’ve felt that way since last year as well. Through 52 games this season, Kirk is hitting .234/.308/.323 with a .631 OPS, two homers, 24 RBIs, and eight doubles. The first thing that jumps off the page for me is that Kirk is hitting for little-to-no power, with his slugging percentage and OPS declining more and more as his seasons go on. 27 of Kirk’s 37 hits have been singles, he’s striking out at his highest rate since his rookie year (albeit the overall percentage of 14.1% isn’t outrageous), and his OPS+ of 81 would be the lowest of his career.

Kirk ended the first half on a high note, however, slashing .370/.394/.444 with two doubles and six RBIs through eight games in July. Glass half full, making contact is one of the biggest names of Kirk’s game, and he was still doing it even if he was just hitting singles. Per Baseball Savant, Kirk ranks in the 90th percentile in Pitch Framing, and he also ranks in the 94th percentile in Fielding Run Value.

Blue Jays fans have spent a lot of time this season focusing on what has gone wrong with guys like Bo Bichette and George Springer, but Kirk should be right in those conversations as well. Like Jansen, he can change the complexity of the lineup with a 2022-esque bat, but he hasn’t put that on the field since then. With Jansen being a pending free agent, how Kirk finishes 2024 may determine how the Blue Jays want to move forward with their catching duties past this season.