Twins RF Alex Kirilloff made history on Wednesday by becoming the first player to start a playoff game for his big league debut
Welcome to the big leagues, Alex Kirilloff.
All the Minnesota Twins are asking from their No. 2 ranked prospect is to start a win-or-go-home game in the postseason without Kirilloff ever having played a game in the regular season.
Kirilloff got the start in right field and batting sixth in the order in Game 2 of the Wild Card round as the Twins face elimination against the Houston Astros. His first at-bat in the big leagues ended with a line drive that was run down by George Springer in center field for the final out of the bottom of the first inning, leaving the bases loaded.
Kirilloff is the third player in MLB history to make his debut in the postseason: Adalberto Mondesi played in the World Series for the Royals in 2015, while Mark Kiger appeared in two games for the Athletics in the 2006 ALCS. But he’s the first to do it as a starter. With Byron Buxton unable to play, manager Rocco Baldelli inserted him into the lineup despite Kirilloff not playing a competitive game in more than a year.
Kirilloff’s last game was on Sept. 2, 2019, going 1-4 with Double-A Pensacola against the Montgomery Biscuits. He hit .283 with a .756 OPS in 94 games last season and is a career .317 hitter in the minor leagues. In 2018, he led the minors with 71 extra-base hits, batting .348 with 20 home runs at Single-A.
The Twins drafted him 15th overall in 2016 out of Plum High School in Pittsburgh. MLB Pipeline rates him as the 27th-best prospect in baseball and second in the Twins organization. He had never played above Double-A before appearing in the postseason on Wednesday.
Buxton started Game 1 for the Twins and went 1-4 with a stolen base. But he’s not in the lineup on Wednesday. Although the Twins aren’t revealing his injury, it may be related to a pitch he took to the head last Friday, after which he began experiencing concussion-like symptoms.
The Twins lost the opening game of the series 4-1, their 17th straight postseason loss dating back to 2004.