George

Kirby

Kirby continues to look sharp this spring despite Seattle’s pitching staff adjusting to life without All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh behind the plate due to the World Baseball Classic. He struck out two and issued just one walk, needing an efficient 55 pitches (35 strikes) to complete three innings. It’s an encouraging sign to see the 28-year-old fantasy stalwart progressing through a normal ramp-up this spring after shoulder inflammation sidelined him at the start of last year.

Kirby feels like a classic rebound candidate. His 3.88 xERA last season aligned closely with his established baseline, while the 4.21 ERA — the worst of his four-year career — arrived alongside shoulder issues that limited him to a career-low 23 starts. The underlying profile didn’t collapse; the surface results just drifted in the wrong direction. At 28, he profiles as the type of arm the market temporarily overthinks before quietly rediscovering. Expect him to settle back into the top-15 starter tier this spring — the kind of bet that feels less like chasing upside and more like trusting mathematics.

Kirby missed time with a shoulder injury in 2025 and pitched to a 4.21 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 137/29 K/BB ratio in 126 innings. Kirby had pitched at least 190 innings in each of the two previous seasons with an ERA in the mid-3s. He has not really developed as a strikeout arm, but he is a good bet to produce good ratios on a winning team, which makes him a solid option in fantasy baseball leagues.

Kirby served up a run-scoring single to Daulton Varsho with two outs in the opening frame but managed to keep Toronto off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing. He finished with three strikeouts and only issued one walk. The 27-year-old righty was long gone from the contest before Seattle’s late-inning collapse.

Kirby was good for the first two innings. He was dreadful from that point on, allowing five runs in the third; including a two-run homer to Andres Giménez, of all people. The right-hander was excellent against Detroit, but this is what happens when Kirby doesn’t have his best command. He still likely gets the ball in Game 7, if necessary,

Rather than risk Castillo in a road start, the Mariners will have him pitch just once at home in the ALCS. Kirby will be lined up for a potential Game 7, though the Mariners will have some options with Bryan Woo’s return giving them five starters.

The Mariners have made it official leading into Sunday’s ALCS opener in Toronto that Miller will get the ball on short rest to kick off the best-of-seven series after George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo all pitched during Friday’s series-clinching win over Detroit. The 27-year-old righty tossed 4 1/3 innings on Wednesday in Game 4 of the series, but threw only 44 pitches in that contest. He would be pitching on just four days of rest, so this would likely be an abbreviated outing and another bullpen game to allow the Mariners to ostensibly reset their rotation.

Kirby was overshadowed by the spectacular results from Tarik Skubal, but he kept Seattle in this game and then some. The right-hander struck out six and didn’t issue a walk while throwing 44-of-66 pitches for strikes. He’ll likely get the nod in Game 3 or Game 4 in Seattle against the Blue Jays next week.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson made it official that Kirby will get the ball for Friday’s series-deciding contest at T-Mobile Park. The 27-year-old ace struck out eight and allowed two runs over five innings last Sunday in Game 1 of the best-of-five series. He’ll square off against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal with a trip to the ALCS against the Blue Jays on the line.

The 27-year-old right-hander walked one batter on the evening while punching out eight. He kept the Tigers off the board completely through the first four innings until he allowed a two-out, two-run blast to Kerry Carpenter in the fifth inning. Kirby generated 16 swings and misses on 94 pitches on the night — nine of them on his slider — while posting a strong CSW of 31 percent. He’ll be ready and waiting to take the ball again should the series get pushed to a decisive Game 5 in Seattle on Friday.