My Lasting Memory of Alex Kirilloff

[Nick Nelson]

In a heartbreaking development, Alex Kirilloff has retired due to injuries at just 26 years old, ending a promising career before it ever could truly get going.

Here's how I'll remember the talented, oft-injured hitter.

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Last Thursday, Alex Kirilloff announced his retirement from baseball, citing the mental and physical toll of dealing with repeated significant injuries, the latest of which is a back condition that will take up to a year to rehabilitate. He's hanging up his cleats after playing just 250 major-league games.

A first-round draft pick who emerged as a top-10 prospect in the game and later became the first player in history to make his major-league debut with a playoff start, Kirilloff's future always seemed blindingly bright. Sadly he didn't have the opportunity to carve out a legacy in Twins lore as we might have dreamed based on his talent. But that doesn't mean he won't leave a lasting impression on those of us who watched his all-too-short career play out.

My final vivid memory of Kirilloff is a fittingly sad one. When the Twins visited Pittsburgh to play the Pirates in early June, I made the trip to check out a new city and cross another ballpark off the list. I attended all three Twins/Pirates games at PNC Park, catching the action from different vantage points for each.

In the series finale on Sunday, we were sitting in the left field bleachers, just a couple rows back from the wall. Kirilloff was in left field that day, and quite close to us, so I kept a close eye on him. I distinctly remember being struck by his body language, which signaled to me a level of deep frustration. These was nothing overtly pouty going on, but it just noticeable in the way he stood, moved around, threw the ball back in the infield ... he was bristling. 

At the time, I figured it was a guy carrying the mental weight of his offensive slump around with him. He went 0-for-3 in that game, dropping his slash line to .151/.222/.343 in his past 30. The team in general was struggling to score runs and he was a big part of the reason. Kirilloff had to know a demotion was soon to come.

Looking back, I now have a much clearer understanding of what was tormenting Kirilloff so visibly: he was in pain. Probably an incredible amount of pain. It turned out to be one of the last games he'd ever play. 

The Twins returned home after the Pittsburgh series and Kirilloff went 0-for-6 in two games against Colorado before the front office was forced into action. They initially optioned him to Triple-A, at which point Kirilloff revealed the true severity of what he was dealing with. The option was reversed, Kirilloff was placed on the injured list, and he never came off it.

A major-league career that started with an 0-for-15 slump ended with an 0-for-11 slump. That will be the last memory of Kirilloff as a Twin. But it won't be my lasting memory.

 

Those of us who followed Kirilloff's journey, from top draft pick to MLB player, know better than to let the low points shape our ultimate perceptions of who he was as a player. While his playing career was heartbreakingly cut short, Kirilloff did plenty in his time on the field to cement his legacy as one of the best pure hitting talents to come through this organization.

The Twins selected Kirilloff 15th overall in the 2016 draft out of a Pennsylvania high school. He was the final first-round pick made under the front-office leadership of legendary scout Terry Ryan, who would be dismissed a few weeks later amidst a disastrous season. Taking teenaged prep hitters in the first round can be risky business (see: Keoni Cavaco) but Kirilloff would prove the Twins very correct in their assessment of his hitting ability and potential.

 

Kirilloff started raking immediately in the minors, batting .306 in his opening 55-game stint at rookie ball. He also started dealing with major injuries and surgical procedures almost immediately, as this outstanding debut was truncated by an elbow issue that required surgery the following spring, costing Kirilloff his entire 2017 season.

It set the tone for a career that would be plagued by these types of setbacks and roadblocks. But it also set the tone for a player who was going to tenaciously meet the challenges head-on, time and time again.

(Image via MLB.com)

Kirilloff returned in 2018 and absolutely obliterated two levels of A-ball, slashing .348/.392/.578 with 20 homers, 44 doubles and 101 RBIs in 130 games. This performance sent him skyrocketing up global top prospects lists, including a placement in the top 10 by MLB Pipeline, which ranked Kirilloff as the ninth-best prospect in baseball.

The following year he put up solid production as a 21-year-old at Double-A, seemingly putting himself on the doorstep of the majors just as Minnesota's Bomba Squad flexed its prowess. Then, COVID happened.

The 2020 shutdown arrived with spectacularly bad timing for Kirilloff, derailing his rapid ascent toward the majors and forcing him to spend his summer toiling away at the Twins' alternate site in St. Paul, where he blew people away with his hitting displays. Kirilloff impressed enough to earn big-league promotion in the middle of the AL Wild Card series, an almost unprecedented move in MLB history.

The Twins, facing elimination and desperate for an offensive spark, called Kirilloff up for Game 2 and he delivered, stroking a single in his second at-bat and becoming the first player ever to record his first hit in the playoffs. THAT will be a lasting memory.

 

Over the seasons that followed, a similar pattern played out for Kirilloff with the Twins: He'd have a stretch of outstanding performance that would give way to a slump, then we'd later learn that he was battling through an injury that majorly inhibited his production. And yeah, those stretches were annoying, because ultimately Kirilloff was doing nobody any favors by trying to fight through these issues and playing at vastly below 100 percent. The last of these incidents was particularly vexing at the time, drawing ire from team officials and fans alike, because the 2024 Twins offense really went in the tank while Kirilloff silently struggled.

But now, looking back at the totality of his career journey? I can't find myself feeling anything other than empathy and understanding. Kirilloff was trying to live his dream, only to have forces outside of his control repeatedly conspire against him. He did all he could to rise above and overcome each tribulation, only to have another thrown his way.

Kirilloff was famous among teammates for his stoic demeanor, well earned from the arduous path he traveled. “You never see him smile,” Byron Buxton said back in 2021. “He’s serious." That's why it was so much fun when, during a two-homer game that showcased Kirilloff's prodigious talent that season, Nelson Cruz smushed the rookie's cheeks and pointed him toward the camera with a grin. THAT will be a lasting memory.

 

Injuries have sadly controlled the narrative for the Minnesota Twins and their brightest talents over the past couple of decades. But we don't have to let them control the way we think back and remember these talents. Focus not on what could have been, but instead on what was. Alex Kirilloff was a special player.

What will be your lasting memories of Kirilloff and his time in the Twins organization? Sound off in the comments. 

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[RpR]

Back problems are at best a fifty-fifty chance of truly getting better.

Misfortune ruined his career, and I can only imagine so called recovering from the back problem, trying to make a come-back and being handed a pink slip any way.

The gent has large cajones for sure going through what he did.☹️

[tony&rodney]

Well said. AK really obliterated the ball in healthy stretches for St. Paul. Baseball is tough. Good article. Thanks.

[jmlease1]

I'm really bummed about Kirilloff. Just one of the sweetest swings we've seen, and every time he'd get on a roll he'd get bit with another injury. And every time an injury cropped up on him his production went into the tank. It's not a surprise that his production went down, considering the injuries he was dealing with: wrist problems are a huge issue for hitter, and so are back problems. Kirilloff was at his best when he was making good, hard, consistent contact, ripping line drives around the stadium. And he just couldn't do it when hampered by injuries.

It sucks. Hopefully he can get his back rehabbed effectively and live a pain-free life again. I expect he'll be done with baseball as a player, but maybe there will still be something for him in the game as a coach or something. he always seemed very smart about his swing so it'd be nice if he could find a path as a hitting instructor.

I really was hoping that after 2023 he could have built on that solid effort. Even after we signed Santana, I thought he would make a good platoon partner and could improve defensively with a veteran like that tutoring him. His body betrayed him, and it sucks.

Wish him a lot of luck. Seemed like a good dude. I'll definitely remember him for that 2018 season when he obliterated the minors and showed what a healthy AK could do.

[stringer bell]

My lasting memory of AK is when he was a fresh faced youngster in spring training. I went to a game in Clearwater where he and Lewis started at first and short respectively and faced Wheeler. Lewis homered and I believe Kirilloff had a single. I watched Kirilloff doing drills later and he looked smooth at first base. I became convinced that Kirilloff would be an All-Star. 

[strumdatjag]

As he progressed thru the minors, AK looked like he would be a major league hitting machine.  But it’s not only about ability but also about durability. 

[Blyleven2011]

Nice article  , lasting memory was he hit to all fields when healthy  ...

Hit alot of opposite field homeruns to left field .....

[DJL44]

This article made me try to think of any memory I have of Alex Kirilloff. There aren't any. I haven't been able to watch the Twins on TV for his entire major league career. I wouldn't know if he walked up next to me on the street.