George

Kirby

Kirby struck out six. His one walk was issued to the last batter he faced in the eighth, Yordan Alvarez. Kirby has averaged 97 mph with his fastballs and sinkers in back-to-back starts. He did that a total of once last year, on Aug. 17 against the Mets. He’s still not missing as many bats as usual, but his groundball rate is way up, which should help with his ERA. He’s 2-2 with a 3.25 ERA right now, and he’s due to face the Rangers next.

Kirby worked four scoreless innings before running into trouble in the fifth. Two hits brought a run in and left a runner on for Kyle Higashioka, who took Kirby deep for a two-run blast to give the Rangers the lead. Kirby would complete three more scoreless frames, completing eight innings before the Rangers closed the door on Seattle in the top of the ninth. Kirby threw 68 of 90 pitches for strikes, walking no batters, and generated a ton of contact with 12 groundouts. He struck out four. Overall, it was a nice bounce-back for the 28-year-old right-hander. Kirby lines up for a start against the Astros in Seattle next Monday.

Kirby was not his sharpest here, but still practically got through a quality start with just one run on his ledger. That is, until he served up a belt-high fastball to Paul Goldschmidt that he parked in the seats. He probably deserved that though because he struggled with his command all afternoon. With that, he only forced six swings-and-misses while the Yankee bats were all over him with nine hard-hit balls among the 15 they put in play. He’ll have a chance to get back on track next time out against the Rangers.

Kirby scattered just two hits on the evening while issuing a pair of free passes. The only blemish on his night came on a solo home run to Chase DeLauter in the opening inning, after that he was brilliant. Kirby got eight whiffs on 90 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 27 percent. He’ll look to extend his winning streak to two when he takes on the Yankees at home on Wednesday.

Kirby put together a phenomenal spring, flashing an uptick in velocity, and will get the ball after Logan Gilbert takes his turn on Opening Day at T-Mobile Park. He’ll be followed by Bryan Woo and Emerson Hancock over the weekend before Luis Castillo makes his season debut against the Yankees on Monday.

Kirby was feeling it in the Arizona heat tonight, touching 99.7 mph and averaging 97.4 mph with his fastball. His spring average coming into this one was 96.3 mph, which was essentially a match for his mark of 96.2 mph last year. Kirby doesn’t necessarily need the extra velocity to be an excellent fantasy starter, but it sure wouldn’t hurt. Kirby is lined up to be slotted in between Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo in the rotation and to make his season debut Friday against the Guardians.

Kirby wriggled out of a first-inning jam by striking out Tyler Stephenson before coaxing a harmless ground out from Noelvi Marte to extinguish the threat. He finished with four strikeouts, only issued one walk, and got his pitch count to 67 — 45 of them for strikes. The 28-year-old’s strong spring has seemingly cemented his status as a top-15 range fantasy starter in drafts this spring.

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.