George Kirby

George Kirby

25-Year-Old PitcherSP
Seattle Mariners
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Kirby is an extremely fascinating pitching profile for a few reasons. His primary calling card is his fastball command as he has been incredibly stingy with walks as a pitcher since college. He has 43 walks in 247 innings of professional baseball and walked 50 in 240 innings as a college pitcher at Elon University. He uses that fastball command to fill the strikezone with his fastball as he throws his four-seamer 45% of the time and the league hit .221 against that pitch. That fastball, by velo and movement, aligns him with the likes of Brandon Woodruff, Frankie Montas, Zack Wheeler, and Jameson Taillon according to StatCast. The other part of his profile is the rest of his repertoire is very hittable as every other pitch he threw had an opponents' batting average .266 or higher. Despite that challenge, he won 8 of his 25 starts upon his promotion and still had a good ratios with a stellar 21% K-BB%. If any of his secondary offerings can take a step forward, things could get very interesting for him in a hurry as there were signficant gaps in his actual vs expected batting averages on his cutter, sinker, and slider. Wide awake sleeper! Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#102
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Mariners in March of 2023.
Hit hard in San Diego
PSeattle Mariners
June 7, 2023
Kirby (5-5) took the loss Wednesday, allowing five runs on 11 hits over 3.2 innings against the Padres. He struck out three.
ANALYSIS
It was a rough outing for Kirby after he allowed just three hits in eight scoreless innings in his last outing against the Yankees. The 25-year-old right-hander has a 5.79 ERA over his last four starts after pitching to a 2.45 mark in his first eight outings. Overall, Kirby's ERA is up to 3.50 with a 1.11 WHIP and a still outstanding 61:6 K:BB through 74.2 innings this season. He'll look to get back on track in his next outing, currently lined up for next week against the Marlins.
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Pitching Stats
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2023
2022
2020
2023 MLB Game Log
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Scoring
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
92
Last 10 Games
92
Last 5 Games
92
How many pitches does George Kirby generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does George Kirby generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-23%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-7%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-35%
BAA vs LHP
2021
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2021vs Left .224 420 104 18 89 18 3 8
Since 2021vs Right .292 402 87 10 112 14 2 12
2023vs Left .254 136 27 4 33 7 2 4
2023vs Right .236 144 31 2 33 2 1 3
2022vs Left .210 284 77 14 56 11 1 4
2022vs Right .324 258 56 8 79 12 1 9
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-10%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-37%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-7%
ERA at Home
2021
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2021Home 3.43 1.16 107.2 6 5 0 9.2 1.0 1.2
Since 2021Away 3.09 1.11 93.1 7 4 0 7.8 1.5 0.6
2023Home 3.72 1.05 36.1 3 2 0 8.2 0.5 1.2
2023Away 2.34 0.98 34.2 2 2 0 6.5 1.0 0.5
2022Home 3.28 1.22 71.1 3 3 0 9.7 1.3 1.1
2022Away 3.53 1.19 58.2 5 2 0 8.6 1.8 0.6
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does George Kirby compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
9.67
 
K/9
7.4
 
BB/9
0.8
 
HR/9
0.9
 
Fastball
95.4 mph
 
ERA
3.04
 
WHIP
1.01
 
BABIP
.293
 
GB/FB
1.29
 
Left On Base
77.2%
 
Exit Velocity
81.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.4%
 
Spin Rate
2236 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
21.9%
 
Swinging Strike
9.3%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
At this point, Kirby seems like a near finished product by pitching prospect standards, with the main question mark being durability. He regularly went seven or eight days in between starts last year and missed three weeks in May and and another four weeks in July with shoulder/arm issues. All told, the 6-foot-4 righty logged a 2.53 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 80:15 K:BB in 67.2 innings (15 starts) across High-A and Double-A. He has always had some of the best command and control in the minors, and Kirby now boasts a monster mid-to-high 90s fastball with good life and three secondary offerings with upside -- his plus upper-80s slider is currently his best offspeed pitch. It's easy to see Kirby maxing out as the Mariners' best pitcher and a true frontline arm if he can start pushing up to 150-plus innings, but just getting to 120-plus innings would be an accomplishment in 2022.
On paper, Kirby stacks up with any pitching prospect in the game. The only problem is that we're still mostly working with scouting grades and biographical data, rather than a track record in pro games. His command projects to be as good as, if not better than, that of any other top pitching prospect, which is a nice place to start. He also has a picturesque delivery coming from a prototypical 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame. Kirby's command has typically been the highlight of his scouting report, but his low-90s fastball ticked up and became a mid-90s pitch that touched 99 mph this past summer at the alternate training site. The 20th overall pick in 2019 out of Elon (a small university in North Carolina) also boasts three average or better secondaries, with his slider and changeup each showing plus potential. He is advanced enough to reach the majors with fewer than 100 pro innings under his belt.
Amateur pitchers with Kirby's potentially elite command that also happen to have legitimate stuff are a rare breed. After walking six batters in 88.1 innings as a junior at Elon, Kirby issued zero walks over 23 innings in his debut. He has a prototypical 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame and a picturesque right-handed delivery. While he didn't face tough competition at the small North Carolina school, Kirby has four average or better pitches, with his low-90s fastball playing as a plus pitch due to his command and extension. Given his size, he could realistically gain fastball velocity with pro instruction. With this profile, we should expect excellent numbers, particularly in the lower levels, where his command and deep arsenal should carry the day. If a couple of his offspeed pitches become plus offerings, Kirby could develop into at least a No. 2 starter. Without any improvements, he could be a No. 4.
More Fantasy News
Rebounds with dazzling start
PSeattle Mariners
June 1, 2023
Kirby took a no-decision while tossing eight scoreless innings Wednesday in a 1-0 win over the Yankees in 10 innings. He allowed just three hits and no walks and struck out seven.
ANALYSIS
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Hit hard by Pirates
PSeattle Mariners
May 26, 2023
Kirby (5-4) took the loss Friday versus the Pirates, allowing seven runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out four over 4.2 innings.
ANALYSIS
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Takes loss despite quality start
PSeattle Mariners
May 21, 2023
Kirby (5-3) took the loss Sunday, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk over seven innings during a 3-2 loss to Atlanta. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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Extends quality-start streak
PSeattle Mariners
May 15, 2023
Kirby (5-2) earned the win over Boston on Monday, allowing one run on eight hits and one walk while striking out six batters over 6.2 innings.
ANALYSIS
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Pitches seven shutout innings
PSeattle Mariners
May 9, 2023
Kirby (4-2) scattered six hits and struck out nine batters over seven shutout innings to earn the win Tuesday over the Rangers.
ANALYSIS
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