CLEVELAND — “Everything usually goes your way when you throw strikes.”
It’s not quite T-shirt material, but George Kirby’s simple belief in what makes him successful as a pitcher can’t really be dispelled as false, particularly after his month of August.
On Friday, Kirby was named the American League Rookie of the Month for a stellar August that made him an easy choice for the award voted upon by baseball media.
In five starts, Kirby posted a 4-0 record with a 2.15 ERA, allowing seven earned runs in 29 1/3 innings. He struck out 34 batters and walked just three in that span. Of his 421 pitches thrown during those five starts, 71% were strikes and he threw first-pitch strikes to 70% of the batters he faced. While he did allow 30 hits, a product of throwing so many strikes, he also didn’t allow a homer.
“George has been fantastic,” manager Scott Servais said. “He continues to get better at making adjustments to what he does and how he uses his stuff. He’s got a lot of confidence right now, which is great to see in young players. He’s been really really good for us and really consistent for us as well.”
Realistically his numbers could’ve been even better, but the Mariners are still being conscientious of his overall usage in his first MLB season. Seattle limited his pitches to 85 in his first two outings of August and removed him early from games in a pair of blowout wins.
“I thought I made a good case myself, for sure,” he said of the award. “It’s good to get the recognition. I’m just excited to keep going, play ball in September and make a playoff run with the team.”
Known as a strike thrower when he was taken in the first round of the 2019 draft out of Elon University, Kirby has never allowed things like increased velocity, adjusting his slider or adding a sinking two-seam fastball take away from his core belief.
In his outing vs. the Nationals, he set an MLB record by starting the game with 24 consecutive strikes.
“I’m just gonna keep doing that,” he said. “I’ve been doing it since college and back in high school, it’s always been in the back of my mind — just throw strikes.”
In the “chess match” with hitters, Kirby isn’t bothered by hitters trying to take advantage of his strike-throwing tendencies. Not all strikes are equal.
“Guys are swinging because I’m gonna put it in the zone,” he said. “That doesn’t really faze me. I’ve just got to execute better in the zone, hit the corners a little better and just execute when I got two strikes. I think I’ve done a really good job of that the last month or two.”
He’s also learned there are times to not throw strikes and expand the strike zone on hitters.
“There’s a lot of guys that you don’t need to beat yourself and you can get them to chase out of the zone,” he said. “I’m learning that. That’s definitely been a challenge for me because I do like to throw all my pitches for strikes. It’s an adjustment it’s something that’s coming along pretty good.”
It’s the third rookie of the month award for the Mariners this season. Julio Rodriguez won the award in May and June. Kirby and Rodriguez are the first pitcher and position player teammate duo to win the AL Rookie of the Month award in the same season since Houston’s George Springer (May) and Collin McHugh (September) did it in 2014.
In 19 starts this season, Kirby has posted a 6-3 record with a 3.16 ERA. In 102 2/3 innings pitched — a career-high at any level — he’s struck out 107 batters and walked only 14. He leads the American League starters with a 7.64 strikeout to walk ratio. He’s issued one walk or fewer in his last 19 starts.
Washington native and Mt. Spokane High standout Drew Rasmussen, who is having a solid year for the Tampa Bay Rays, was named the AL pitcher of the month.
Rasmussen posted a 3-1 record in six starts with a 1.57 ERA, including 33 strikeouts and four walks in 34 1/3 innings pitched. He carried a perfect game into the ninth inning vs. the Orioles.
American League and National League Pitchers of the Month
- AL — Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays
- NL — Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
American League and National League Rookies of the Month
- AL — George Kirby, Seattle Mariners
- NL — Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves
American League and National League Relievers of the Month
- AL — Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians
- NL — Edwin Díaz, New York Mets