The Seattle Mariners will soon call up top pitching prospect George Kirby, ESPN reports. Kirby, 24, is a former No. 20 overall pick out of Elon University. This season, he's been dominant across five starts at the Double-A level, with a 1.82 ERA and 32 strikeouts against five walks in 24 2/3 innings. In parts of three minor-league seasons, Kirby has an ERA of 2.34 with an equally impressive K/BB ratio of 6.40. He's worked almost exclusively as a starter.
Coming into the 2022 season, our own R.J. Anderson ranked Kirby as the No. 24 prospect in all of baseball. Here's what he wrote at the time:
Kirby split last season across High- and Double-A, posting a 2.53 ERA and a 5.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He's more than a statistical wonder; he's upped his velocity without sacrificing control (he's walked fewer than two batters per nine innings as a professional) or the sheer breadth of his arsenal. His combination of stuff and polish should allow him to become the first of a few incoming arms to debut for the Mariners.
The Mariners have positioned themselves as contenders this season. However, after a strong start to 2022 they come into Saturday's slate having lost five in a row and nine of their last 10. At present the SportsLine Projection System gives the M's just a 15.9 percent chance of making the newly expanded playoff field for 2022.
Once he arrives in Seattle, Kirby will join a rotation that ranks 17th in MLB in starters' ERA and 23rd in starters' K/BB ratio.
