Seattle Mariners top prospect George Kirby made his MLB debut Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays after getting called up from Double-A Arkansas earlier in the weekend.
Boy, he didn’t disappoint from the hump. The organization’s No. 3 prospect heading into the season pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven while yielding just four hits. A total of 55 of his 81 pitches went for strikes.
A first-round pick of the Mariners back in 2019, Kirby made Rays hitters look foolish throughout his debut.
For those who follow the Mariners’ farm system, this can’t be seen as too much of a surprise. Kirby is known for his hard fast ball and command of his off-speed pitches. That was more than evident in his MLB debut.
Seattle Mariners have a potential ace in George Kirby
Prior to getting the call to the big league team, Kirby dominated minor league competition this season.
He pitched to a 2-0 record with a 1.82 ERA and 0.89 WHIP in five starts for Arkansas. He also struck out 32 batters in 24.2 innings. Overall, Kirby has just been brilliant since making his professional debut back in 2017.
- George Kirby stats (minor leagues): 7-3 record, 2.34 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 137 strikeouts in 115.1 innings
The Mariners’ top prospect heading into the season, Julio Rodriguez, made the club out of training camp. The outfielder is hitting .232 with one homer and nine RBI in 27 games as a rookie.
Despite Rodriguez’s recent struggles, it sure looks like Seattle has a couple franchise cornerstones moving forward.