There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kirby's knuckle curve leaves the bat at 91.9 mph, against 83.9 off his cutter.
281 and 119 of them thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kirby's sinker moves 16.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
570 thrown, averaging 96.9 mph.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kirby's 4-seam fastball averages 96.7 mph, and has touched 99.4.
789 thrown, 28.6% of his pitches.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kirby throws a fastball 62.3% of the time, against 47% when he is ahead.
642 pitches behind in the count, 888 ahead.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Kirby's fastball averages 97.2 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 96.0 past his 75th.
462 early fastballs, 268 late ones.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kirby averages 91.9 mph across his arsenal, 78th percentile in the league.
829 pitches in 2026. 78th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 117th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kirby's knuckle curve carries 13.6 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
281 thrown, averaging 84.1 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kirby throws the sinker 33.3% of the time against right-handers and 9.5% against left-handers.
1299 pitches to right-handers, 1459 to left-handers.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kirby puts 63.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 42.5% when he is ahead.
642 located pitches behind, 888 ahead.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Kirby throws 48.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 43.8% with the bases empty.
112 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 717 with the bases empty.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Kirby projects a .294 average, 80th percentile.
829 pitches in 2026. 80th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 108th in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kirby throws a strike on the first pitch 66.4% of the time.
742 plate appearances started in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kirby lands 47.9% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.8% of his offspeed pitches.
461 of his fastballs, 69 of his offspeed pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kirby works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Sinker and Knuckle Curve, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 28.6% of everything he throws.
2758 classified pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Kirby works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.0 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
2758 located pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kirby releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 41 degrees above horizontal and 1.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2758 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Kirby lives in the strike zone: 44.4% of his pitches are in it, 67th percentile.
829 pitches in 2026. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 178th in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kirby goes to the sweeper: 33.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 25.9% the rest of the time.
850 two-strike pitches in 2026.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .298 expected average against them, against .261 on his offspeed pitches.
461 of his fastballs thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.7 mph separates Kirby's sinker from his knuckle curve, 96.9 against 84.1.
570 and 281 of them respectively.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kirby lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.36 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2758 located pitches in 2026.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kirby releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
2546 tracked pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kirby's sweeper spins at 2,373 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
781 thrown in 2026.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Kirby has thrown 119 cutters this season, 4.3% of his pitches, at 92.8 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
2758 classified pitches in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kirby's knuckle curve leaves the bat at 91.9 mph, against 83.9 off his cutter.
281 and 119 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kirby's 4-seam fastball averages 96.7 mph, and has touched 99.4.
789 thrown, 28.6% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kirby throws the sinker 33.3% of the time against right-handers and 9.5% against left-handers.
1299 pitches to right-handers, 1459 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kirby works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Sinker and Knuckle Curve, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 28.6% of everything he throws.
2758 classified pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.7 mph separates Kirby's sinker from his knuckle curve, 96.9 against 84.1.
570 and 281 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kirby's sweeper spins at 2,373 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
781 thrown in 2026.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Kirby has thrown 119 cutters this season, 4.3% of his pitches, at 92.8 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
2758 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kirby's sinker moves 16.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
570 thrown, averaging 96.9 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kirby's knuckle curve carries 13.6 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
281 thrown, averaging 84.1 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kirby throws a fastball 62.3% of the time, against 47% when he is ahead.
642 pitches behind in the count, 888 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kirby puts 63.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 42.5% when he is ahead.
642 located pitches behind, 888 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kirby throws a strike on the first pitch 66.4% of the time.
742 plate appearances started in 2026.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kirby goes to the sweeper: 33.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 25.9% the rest of the time.
850 two-strike pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Kirby's fastball averages 97.2 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 96.0 past his 75th.
462 early fastballs, 268 late ones.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kirby releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 41 degrees above horizontal and 1.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2758 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kirby releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
2546 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kirby averages 91.9 mph across his arsenal, 78th percentile in the league.
829 pitches in 2026. 78th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 117th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Kirby throws 48.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 43.8% with the bases empty.
112 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 717 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Kirby projects a .294 average, 80th percentile.
829 pitches in 2026. 80th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 108th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kirby lands 47.9% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.8% of his offspeed pitches.
461 of his fastballs, 69 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .298 expected average against them, against .261 on his offspeed pitches.
461 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on one side of the plate
Kirby works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.0 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
2758 located pitches in 2026.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kirby lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.36 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2758 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Kirby lives in the strike zone: 44.4% of his pitches are in it, 67th percentile.
829 pitches in 2026. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 178th in MLB.
Mariners