Legendary ESPN Reporter Has Lofty Praise For Seattle Mariners Pitcher George Kirby
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Legendary ESPN MLB Insider Tim Kurkjian recently told Seattle Sports 710 that he expects Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby to be the best pitcher in baseball at some point soon.
“I still expect George Kirby to become the best pitcher in the league at some point. He’s got that kind of stuff,” Kurkjian said. “I mean, it’s ridiculous how good his stuff is, and the only thing better than his stuff is his control and his command.”
ESPN's Tim Kurkjian showered lofty praise on a #Mariners starter. The longtime MLB insider shared why he believes Seattle's right-hander will become the best pitcher in the majors with Bump and Stacy.https://t.co/3T2MDY66qu
— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) February 9, 2025
Kurkjian isn't wrong about that, as Kirby struck out 179 batters against just 23 walks in 2024. So far, in 511.2 career innings, he's got 484 K's against just 64 walks. He's led the majors in K/BB in each of the last two seasons.
Despite his elite control, Kirby did have a bit of a down year that he'll look to correct in 2025. He gave up the most hits in the American League (181) and had an ERA of 3.53, which was the highest of his career so far.
Kirby has topped the 190-inning mark in each of the last two seasons and will look to hit the 200-inning plateau this season. Kirby joins Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo in perhaps the best starting rotation in all of baseball.
The Mariners will report to spring training this week looking to improve upon an 85-77 season from a year ago. They missed the playoffs by one game and finished second in the American League West.
The M's haven't done much this offseason, but they did add infielders Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano on one-year deals.
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