Morosi: A ‘very good’ sign from George Kirby’s return

After missing the first eight weeks of the season due to shoulder inflammation, Seattle Mariners right-hander George Kirby made his much-anticipated 2025 debut on Thursday night against the Houston Astros.

A key improvement from Cal Raleigh that stands out

From a results perspective, it certainly wasn’t up to Kirby’s usual high standard. The talented 27-year-old starter allowed five runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings, while totaling four strikeouts, one walk and two hit batters in a 72-pitch outing.

But for MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, the more important number on Thursday was Kirby’s 96.3 mph average four-seam fastball velocity. That’s right on par with Kirby’s usual range. His four-seamer averaged 95.3 mph in 2022, 96.1 mph in 2023 and 96.0 mph in 2024.

“There was more good than bad, I thought,” Morosi said Friday during his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. “And obviously the end line didn’t look great in terms of how many runs he gave up, and it wasn’t an especially long outing either. And so the ERA is gonna look a little un-Kirby-like for a while.

“But you’ve gotta remember that it is just his first start. He’s just settling back in now to the competitive atmosphere of Major League Baseball and it’s gonna take some time. The important thing (is that) the average fastball velo was what you would expect, in that same range. So very good there.”

The biggest difference was that Kirby’s usual pinpoint command wasn’t there on Thursday, but Morosi said that wasn’t unexpected given this was his MLB season debut – and just his fourth outing overall this year, including three rehab starts in Triple-A Tacoma.

“The command, to me, that’s the final piece,” Morosi said. “… I think that’s the piece that’s probably still working it’s way back.”

Kirby’s return is a major boost for a Seattle rotation that’s been hit hard by injuries. The 2019 first-round draft pick posted a 3.43 ERA in 89 starts with the Mariners over the previous three seasons and was an All-Star in 2023, when he finished eighth in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

“The fact that he was on the mound throwing is the best news of all,” Mariners broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. said Friday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “I actually think he pitched better than his final line. … But it was just good to see him back.

“He’s just out of spring training essentially, if you want to think about it that way,” he added. “So it’s gonna take some time for him to get back to where he was last year, but this is a huge first step.”

Listen to the full conversation with MLB Network’s Jon Morosi at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Hear the full conversation with Gary Hill Jr. at this link or in the audio player at the bottom of this story.

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