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It seems that the sailors have found a perfect fit for their area control strategy.
With the 20th pick of the MLB selection on Monday, Seattle chose Elon University pitcher George Kirby, who led all NCAA Division I pitchers with a 17.83-strike record this year – 107 strikes in six passes in 88.1.
"It kind of hits you when you look at it," said Scott Hunter, director of Mariners' Watch, about the strike-to-stick ratio. "You have to actually ask if it's real. And with all our different technologies and our analysts and all the different types of videos, it's (real). "
This is the second year in a row that Seattle is using its first-round pick on a right arm for a small college. Hunter added that Kirby had similar qualities to Logan Gilbert, the Mariners' first-choice pick in 2018 from Stetson University, whose promising start to his professional career had taken him to the next level in minor leagues.
"Obviously, very excited about the idea of adding a university launcher, we felt to be one of the top four or five arms in the country. It's all we appreciate here, "said Hunter.
"I do not mean that George Kirby was the same as Logan Gilbert," added Hunter, "but some of our information, our data, and some of the different things we do, not only looking for a scout , different technology – there were a lot of comparisons with Logan. It was a huge team effort. "
Kirby, 21, of Rye, NY, was 8-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 14 starts as a junior for Elon this year, winning the Colonial's Launcher Award Athletic Association.
Kirby, 6-foot-4 and 210-pound, includes a repertoire of four heights: a fastball with a speed of 92 to 94 km / h, a slider, a curved ball and a change of direction.
He first caught the attention of Devitt Moore, the Mariners' scout supervisor, while competing at Cape Cod's prestigious Summer League last year. Moore called Hunter to talk to him about Elon's right-handed man, and Hunter's first question was, "Okay, where's Elon?"
Hunter caught up quickly.
"He had his party out on Cape Cod, as did Logan Gilbert," Hunter said. "He proved that he not only had the ability to compete with a better competition, but that he was very dynamic."
In three seasons at Elon, he went 19-8 with a 3.34 in 45 games (34 starts).
He is expected to travel to Everett to begin his career later this month.
"I'm super excited," said Kirby. "I think my pitch mix works well. I'm ready to face the best guys. It's something I've been working on for a while and I'm really excited to have this opportunity. "
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