The Road to The Show™: Alex Kirilloff

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken to reach the brink of realizing his Major League dream. Here's a look at Minnesota Twins outfielder/first baseman Alex Kirilloff. For more player journeys on The Road to The Show, click here.

Though it’s had its share of both, Western Pennsylvania is perhaps better known for producing gridiron greats than baseball stars. Plum High School product Alex Kirilloff of the Twins is looking to change that.

The son of a hitting coach who seemingly grew up in a batting cage, Kirilloff was considered one of the best prep hitters in the 2016 Draft before Minnesota snagged him with the 15th overall pick. He got to work right away, batting .306 that summer as an 18-year-old in the Appalachian League. The left-handed outfielder ran into a roadblock the following spring, however, and missed the entire 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March.

Recovering in time to open the 2018 campaign with Class A Cedar Rapids, Kirilloff torched the Midwest League and ascended to the upper echelons of prospect rankings by season’s end. He hit .333/.391/.607 with 13 homers and 56 RBIs in just 65 games with the Kernels before earning a promotion to Class A Advanced Fort Myers. Moving to the pitcher-friendly Florida State League, Kirilloff batted a blistering .362 the rest of the way and helped lead the Miracle to the FSL championship by going 11-for-27 (.407) in the playoffs.

In total, Kirilloff finished his first full pro season with a .348/.392/.578 line, led the Minors with 44 doubles, ranked fifth with 101 RBIs and earned the Sherry Robertson Award as the Twins' 2018 Minor League Player of the Year.

"What he did this year is borderline phenomenal in a lot of people's eyes," Twins vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff told MiLB.com that fall. "He missed a year, but he didn't take any time off improving his body. He's stronger, more developed, more mature. He went right through two levels and he's primed to go beyond that in 2019."

Kirilloff headed into the 2019 season as MLB Pipeline's No. 9 overall prospect, but had mixed results with Double-A Pensacola in the Southern League due to a nagging wrist injury that sapped his power. He hit .283/.343/.413 in 94 games for the Blue Wahoos but was on a definite upswing by season’s end – Kirilloff batted .309/.358/.491 from August onward and slugged four homers in five playoff games.

"When he felt better, the power started to show up," Twins director of player development Alex Hassan told MiLB.com this past March. "I have a ton of conviction and belief in his ability to hit for power. After an offseason of rest and his wrist healing up, you'll see that."

Kirilloff’s development also took a different turn in the field in 2019. He’d spent all his time as a pro in the outfield, usually right. In Pensacola, he played 35 games at first base.

"The interesting thing about Alex is he played a good amount of first as an amateur," Hassan noted. "Then once he joined the pro ranks, he was focused mainly on the outfield. But when we put him back over to first base, he's fairly natural over there. He picked back up with that position pretty well. We're building versatility for him and for a lot of our players that reach the upper levels. It's important to get them multiple avenues to get to the big leagues."

Despite his versatility, Kirilloff, 22, has yet to break into a loaded Twins lineup. Minnesota set the big league record for home runs in 2019 with help from corner outfielders Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario, who combined to hit 68. With the signing of Josh Donaldson over the winter to play third base, slugger Miguel Sanó moved over to first. Although Kepler, Rosario and Sanó have not been quite as good in this year’s truncated season, Minnesota has nailed down a playoff berth as it vies for its first championship since 1991.

Now ranked as baseball’s No. 28 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Kirilloff hit well at Summer Camp and remains available at the Twins’ alternate training site should they need a pure left-handed hitter. If not this year, it won’t be long before he makes people think of Western Pennsylvania as a hotbed of baseball talent.