Plum graduate Alex Kirilloff healthy, excited for next step with Twins

In his first four years in professional baseball, Plum alum Alex Kirilloff has suffered plenty of ups and downs.

After hitting .306 at the rookie ball level in 2016, the 15th overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2017 season.

But Kirilloff, the Twins’ No. 2 ranked prospect according to MLB.com, bounced back in 2018 and hit a combined .348 average with 101 RBIs for two Single-A affiliates. So heading into last year for Minnesota’s Double-A squad, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Kirilloff was ready for another step forward.

But, again, injuries were a problem, as he went on the DL twice because of a sprained right wrist. For the season, he hit .283 with nine homers and 43 RBIs in 94 games.

“Last year was just kind of weird because I had good spurts and bad spurts,” said Kirilloff, 22, who plays outfield and first base. “I obviously had a couple of periods where I was on the DL, and I had one injection in the middle of the season and stuff, too. So it was up and down the whole year.”

“It was kind of just figuring out how to manage my wrist because it just never felt 100 percent. So I’d just have some days and weeks that felt better than others, and usually, as time went on, I’d start to feel it (the injury) again.”

Toward the end of last season, Kirilloff’s production steadily increased. In August, Kirilloff hit .311 average with five homers and 19 RBIs in 26 games.

His surge continued into the playoffs, when Kirilloff produced eight RBIs and eight hits in five games.

“Things just kind of clicked,” Kirilloff said. “I knew that things were coming to an end, and I was going to have some time to figure it out during the offseason too. So I’m not sure if it was really my wrist feeling better or not at the end of the year as much as it was things clicking with my timing and everything else.”

Kirilloff took advantage of this past offseason and was feeling good heading into spring training.

“I was excited mainly just because I felt a lot better. Body- and wrist-wise, I felt pretty much 100 percent,” Kirilloff said. “I felt comfortable playing-wise, as well. So, I was excited to continue to do that and get the regular season started.”

Kirilloff was hitting .429 with two homers and four RBIs in 10 spring training games before the coronavirus pandemic put the MLB season on hold. Kirilloff has been staying ready by hitting in an indoor cage and working out with equipment in his back yard in Florida. Mainly, though, he is just trying to stay fresh.

“I have just kind of been making the most of what I can do,” Kirilloff said. “I think that’s just the best way to do it. I don’t think there’s a correct way to handle it.”