With 14 games left in the regular season, the Toronto Blue Jays sit two games back of the Cleveland Guardians for the final American League wild card berth.

It wasn’t long ago that the idea of the Blue Jays making the postseason seemed distant at best. On July 24, they were 10 games under .500 and 6.5 games back of the final wild card spot.

Fans can point to many reasons for the Blue Jays’ turnaround, but one of the biggest is catcher Alejandro Kirk’s form.

Since the all-star break, Kirk has slashed .320/.388/.480 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs. He’s easily been the hottest hitter for the Blue Jays in the second half of the season.

Before the start of the season, it would have surprised no one that Kirk would be an X-factor for the Blue Jays. However, he hadn’t had an easy time before the All-Star break. Kirk was placed on the IL on April 4 after fracturing his thumb on a foul tip in a 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox. At the time, he’d played just five games with the Blue Jays in 2026. He did not return until June 12.

It took Kirk a while to regain his form once he returned from the IL. Between his return on June 12 and the All-Star break, Kirk was slashing .217/.286/.304 with just one home run, seven RBIs, and a 64 wRC+.

Kirk’s struggles in his return were especially frustrating because Blue Jays fans had been anticipating that his return would give the club a big boost. Injuries have been one of the biggest roadblocks for the Blue Jays in 2026, so the expectation was that having one of their most valuable players healthy again would help the Blue Jays get back on track. For the first month after Kirk’s return, that wasn’t the case.

Making matters worse for the Blue Jays, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slashed .211/.269/.337 over that same stretch with three home runs and a 70 wRC+. George Springer performed better over that stretch, posting a .250/.333/.447 slash line with four home runs and a 120 wRC+.

By July 24, when things looked the bleakest for the Blue Jays, Guerrero, Kirk, and Springer combined for 1.9 fWAR (Guerrero: 1.0, Kirk: 0.6, Springer: 0.3). In 2025, they led the Blue Jays in fWAR (Springer: 5.2, Kirk: 4.7, Guerrero: 3.9). If there was an explanation, aside from injuries, look no further than the performance of their three best players.

With that said, it comes as no surprise that the Blue Jays’ resurgence came at the same time that Kirk found his form. Since the all-star break, he’s led the team in RBIs (27) and wRC+ (141), while being second to Kazuma Okamoto in home runs (7).

On top of improved offensive production, Kirk has continued to be one of the best defensive catchers in MLB. He is tied for third among catchers in Fielding Run Value (10) despite playing fewer innings than similarly ranked players. He’s ranked in the 99th percentile for blocking and the 98th percentile for framing. As valuable as his bat is, Kirk’s true value comes from what he does behind the plate. Even when he was struggling offensively, his defence remained elite.

The only area of concern for Kirk defensively is his throwing. His pop time dropped from the 51st percentile in 2025 to the 10th percentile in 2026. His caught-stealing rate above average also dropped from the 56th percentile in 2025 to the 35th percentile in 2026. For the most part, these have been the weakest parts of Kirk’s defence throughout his career, but the drop compared to previous years is something to monitor.

Kirk has adapted pretty well to the introduction of ABS this season. Interestingly however, he has struggled more with it recently than earlier in the season. At the All-Star break, Kirk ranked 15th in net overturns among catchers with 7.5. He’s dropped to 20th with 6.5. His success rate has also dropped from 69 per cent to 60 per cent. He also struggles with ABS when batting, with a 43 per cent success rate and -2.3 net overturns.

Over his career, Kirk has proven himself to be one of the most valuable players on the Blue Jays. He was a big reason for the Blue Jays’ success in 2025. It comes as no surprise that as he’s started playing better in 2026, so has the rest of the team. Since the All-Star break, Kirk has posted 2.0 fWAR, which is the highest on the team.

For the Blue Jays to complete their comeback and make the postseason, they’ll need Kirk to maintain his current level for the remainder of the season. It would also be a big boost for the Blue Jays if Guerrero can similarly find his form before the end of the season.

With 14 games left in the regular season, the Blue Jays don’t have a lot of wiggle room if they want to make the playoffs. Every series is a must-win. Kirk’s resurgence has helped them get back in the race; now they need to finish strong.