Kirby, a Elon baseball alumni and 20th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, was recently named as the seventh-best rookie of the 2022 MLB season by Bleacher Report.
Elon baseball alumni George Kirby was recently named the seventh-best rookie of the 2022 MLB season by Bleacher Report. Kirby was drafted 20th overall by the Seattle Mariners in 2019 and has positioned himself as one of the game’s brightest rising stars.
Kirby started 25 games in 2022 and had an ERA of 3.39 with an 8-5 record. Bleacher Report writes, “The 24-year-old walked more than one batter in only two of his 25 starts, and his 4.1 percent walk rate ranked sixth among all pitchers with at least 100 innings of work.” As a rookie, Kirby also set an MLB record by throwing 24 consecutive strikes to start a game.
Kirby helped Seattle clinch its first playoff appearance in 21 years and started in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, pitching seven scoreless innings against the most recent American League champions, the Houston Astros.
Although the Mariners were swept in three games by the Astros, Kirby has given Seattle a lot to be excited for in his first major league season, Bleacher Reports writes, and could very well be a long-term building block in Seattle’s “impressive rotation.”
The full list from Bleacher Report can be read here.