George Kirby

One of the best strike-throwers in the country, Kirby formed an impressive one-two combination with righthander Kyle Brnovich at Elon this spring. Kirby is the higher-rated draft prospect, however, due to his slew of starter’s traits and solid four-pitch mix. While there are pitchers with louder pure stuff than the 6-foot-4, 201-pound righthander, Kirby is among the most likely 2019 draft prospects to make a major league impact because of his clean arm action and plus command. Through 11 starts and 71.2 innings this spring, Kirby had struck out 84 hitters and walked just five, which ranked as the best strikeout-to-walk ratio (16.8) in the country. While some scouts will critique the level of competition that Kirby faced in the Colonial Athletic Association and don’t expect him to miss many bats against better competition, it’s impossible to ignore his strike-throwing ability. There’s also his impressive 2018 in the Cape Cod League, where Kirby worked as a reliever and posted a 1.38 ERA over 13 innings, striking out 24 and walking only one. Kirby’s fastball has reached as high as 97 mph in the past, but this spring he’s worked mostly in the low 90s while touching 94-95 mph consistently. His fastball grades out as a plus offering because of his ability to spot it to both sides of the plate and elevate it when necessary. Kirby throws a curveball and a slider, and both pitches will flash plus at times, but they lack consistency right now and might be average pitches, at best, in a starting role. Kirby’s top offspeed pitch could be his mid-80s changeup, which he throws with conviction and consistently lands in the bottom of the strike zone. Kirby looks the part of a solid, middle- to back-of-the-rotation starter, and he should be selected in the middle of the first round this June.