Six Blue Jays nominated for Silver Slugger Award

The Toronto Blue Jays have six players nominated as American League Silver Slugger Award finalists, MLB announced Thursday.

Catcher Alejandro Kirk, shortstop Bo Bichette, outfielders George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez, third baseman Matt Chapman and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all received nominations, awarded each year to the best offensive player at his position.

It is Kirk's first career Silver Slugger nomination while Guerrero and Hernandez each won the award in 2021. Bichette was a finalist last season but the award ultimately went to Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox while Springer and Chapman each secure their first nominations as members of the Blue Jays.

The 23-year-old Kirk slashed .285/.372/.415 with 14 home runs and 63 RBI in 139 games last season, making the AL All-Star Team for the first time in his career.

A native of Tijuana, Mexico, Kirk finished tops among all catchers in baseball with a 129 wRC+, a stat that measures overall offensive output against a league average baseline while accounting for external factors. J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies was second (128) while the next top AL catcher was Oakland's Sean Murphy at 122. This year was Kirk's third with the Blue Jays but his first full season as he appeared in just nine games in 2020 and 60 in 2021. 

Guerrero, 23, turned in his second consecutive All-Star season in 2022 but finished with numbers well below his offensive output from a season before in most statistical categories. Still, Guerrero turned in a nice season, tallying 32 home runs, 97 RBI, a slash line of .274/.339/.480 and a wRC+ of 132, which was fourth among AL first baseman and 11 points lower than leader Jose Abreu.

For most of 2022, Bichette struggled to