George
Kirby

April 2016

MLB scouts have been flocking every time that Kirby pitches so far this season. His fastball was touching 90 mph on a cold April 8 day against Albertus Magnus, but he has been clocked as high as 92-93. At 6-foot-4 with a fluid motion, he is projectable as a pro prospect. He’s been incorporating a changeup to go along with his fastball/curve combo and routinely strikes out double-digit batters.

Metropolitan Classic (Aug. 22 2015)

RHP George Kirby (Rye HS, NY) started the Northeast Mets’ second game and allowed one run on three hits, a walk and hit batter in the three innings while striking out one. He started out sitting 87-90, settling into the high 80s. He loses a tick out of the stretch, but showed some feel for a sinking changeup at 80-81. He also mixed in a curveball at 74.

Area Code Tryout (Summer 2015)

Extra lanky, projection type RHP showed very well. Fastball sits 88-90 with long levers and an easy delivery. CH was 77-78 but straight and had little depth. Did throw with okay arm speed, could be a little better. Also had a 70-74 12-6 breaking ball which was better. Intriguing arm to me and could see this kid as a high helium candidate next spring with more strength.

2/16/19: Loose, athletic bodied righty with a compact and quick arm action. Ran his fastball up to 95, sitting mostly 92-93 on a cold day at Latham Park. Fastball was a bit flat in the early innings, but it quickly turned into a swing/miss pitch with some late run during his last four-plus innings of work. Breaking ball sat mostly 78-80 mph, reaching up into the low-80s on occasion. Was flat early, but found some average offerings with good shape/depth as the game went along. Showed some feel for a 84-87 mph changeup. Should be a useable third pitch at the next level. For the day Kirby went 6.2 innings, allowed no runs, two hits and struck out 10. Threw 81 pitches, the last a 93 mph fastball. The consistency of his breaking ball will ultimately determine if he goes in the first 30 picks, or the next 30.

8/15/18: Another big arm on what looks to be a powerful Phoenix pitching staff (Kyle Brnovich, Ty Adcock) this spring. Kirby is a long limbed, projectable righty with a proportional build between his upper and lower halves. Lean build at six-foot-four, 205 pounds. Loose arm action with three-quarter release and good arm speed. Arm remains bent and compact throughout throwing motion. Balanced leg lift. Short stride. Good direction to the plate. Everything looks clean and easy. Fastball sat 90-94 mph, touched 96. Comes out of the hand easy with consistent, late life. Projects to add several more mph to his heater when he reaches full maturity. Threw mostly fastballs on this look because there was no need to throw anything else. Hitters just couldn’t square it up. Only saw one below average curveball at 77 mph. Loose spin, no bite. Possibly better suited to throw a hard slider. Flashed a changeup with good sink and run during warm-ups. Didn’t do much in game at 82-83 mph, firm offering. Walked just one batter in 13 innings with 24 strikeouts this summer. Look for Kirby to attract mass scouting attention this spring and top round consideration in June. (D Jurik)