Alexander David Kirilloff (born November 9, 1997) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He played for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 2020 to 2024.

Amateur career

Kirilloff played baseball at

Plum High School Plum Senior High School is a public high school and the only high school in Plum Borough School District located at 900 Elicker Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15239, United States. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 2019� ...

Plum, Pennsylvania Plum is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 27,144 at the 2020 census. A suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, it is located northeast of the city in what is commonly referred to as the East Hill ...

, but did not attend classes there. He is a 2016 graduate of the

Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School The Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, known simply as PA Cyber, is a public cyber charter school founded in Midland, Pennsylvania in 2000. Regional Office locations Source: *Allentown, Pennsylvania *Erie, Pennsylvania *Greensburg, Pennsylv ...

, which is an online public charter school based out of

Midland, Pennsylvania Midland is a borough located along the Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...

. He played the outfield, first base, and was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. In only 24 games with Plum High School, Kirilloff batted .563 with 28

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs) and four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. As a pitcher, he had an 8–0

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 0.74

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). During the summer of 2015 he played in the Perfect Game All-American Classic at

Petco Park Petco Park is a ballpark in San Diego, California. It is the home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The ballpark is located in the East Village neighborhood of downtown San Diego, adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter. Petco Par ...

and won the event's home run derby. Kirilloff committed to

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

, but ultimately ended up choosing to begin his professional baseball career.

Professional career

The

selected Kirilloff in the first round, with the 15th overall pick, in the

2016 MLB draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. Kirilloff spent his first professional season with the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...

where he hit .306/.341/.454 with seven home runs, nine doubles, and 33 RBI in 55 games, which earned him Appalachian League MVP honors. His season was cut short with a partial ligament tear in his elbow, and he tried to avoid surgery, receiving

platelet-rich plasma Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), also known as autologous conditioned plasma, is a concentrate of plasma protein derived from whole blood, centrifuged to remove red blood cells but retaining platelets. Though promoted for treating various medical con ...

therapy. It was eventually deemed necessary that Kirilloff undergo

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

, forcing him to miss all of 2017. He returned in 2018 with the

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Cedar Rapids), Veter ...

before being promoted to the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at ...

in June. In 130 games between the two clubs, he slashed .348/.392/.578 with 20 home runs and 101 RBI. Kirilloff began 2019 with the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a wrist injury. For the season, he played in 94 games, slashing .283/.343/.413 with nine home runs and 43 RBI. He was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, Arizona. ...

following the season. The Twins selected Kirilloff's contract on September 29, 2020, ahead of the 2020 American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros. He made his major league debut the next day as the starting

rightfielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

, going 1-for-4 with a single as the Twins were eliminated. On July 21, 2021, it was announced that Kirilloff would undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist. On the season, he played in 59 games, hitting .251/.299/.423 with 8 home runs and 34 RBI. In 2022, Kirilloff appeared in 45 games for the Twins, batting .250/.290/.361 with 3 home runs and 21 RBI. On August 7, 2022, Kirilloff underwent season-ending ulnar shortening surgery on his right wrist. In 2023, Kirilloff played in 88 games for Minnesota, hitting .270/.348/.445 with career–highs in home runs (11) and RBI (41). Following the season on October 24, 2023, he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Kirilloff began the 2024 campaign with Minnesota, batting .201 with five home runs and 20 RBI across 57 games. He was placed on the injured list with back soreness and nerve issues on June 18, and was transferred to the 60–day injured list on July 30. On October 31, 2024, Kirilloff announced his retirement from professional baseball on social media, citing a decrease in passion for the game and his struggles with injury as reasons for his departure.

Personal life

Kirilloff and his wife, Jordan, had their first child, a daughter, in February 2020. Their second daughter was born in late 2021.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirilloff, Alex 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Pittsburgh Major League Baseball outfielders Minnesota Twins players Elizabethton Twins players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Fort Myers Miracle players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Fort Myers Mighty Mussels players St. Paul Saints players