Mariners Minor League Awards for April
RHP George Kirby named Pitcher of the Month and INF Edwin Arroyo named Position Player of Month.
Double-A Arkansas Travelers right-handed pitcher George Kirby has been named Mariners Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April, and Low-A Modesto Nuts infielder Edwin Arroyo has been named Mariners Minor League Position Player of the Month for April.
Kirby, 24, went 2–0 with a 1.37 ERA (3 ER, 19.2 IP) in 4 starts with Arkansas in April. He limited opponents to .191 (13x68) average, while walking 5 and striking out 25 over 19.2 innings of work. Kirby tossed 13.0 scoreless innings over parts of 3 starts, April 13-April 26. During this stretch he allowed only 9 hits while walking 4 and striking out 17. Kirby earned his first win of the season in an 8–0 shutout victory on April 13 vs. Springfield. In that start he allowed only 2 hits and struck out a season-high 8 batters over 5.0 scoreless innings. He picked up the his 2nd win on April 20 at Corpus Christi, allowing 5 hits while walking 2 and striking out 7 over 5.0 scoreless innings.
Kirby was selected by the Mariners in the 1st round (20th overall) in the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Elon University. The Rye, NY, native, is 7–3 with a 2.34 ERA (30 ER, 115.1 IP) in 29 games, 28 starts over his three seasons in the minor leagues. He has limited opponents to a .230 (99x431) average, while walking 20 and striking out 137 batters in 115.1 innings. Kirby is currently rated by MLB Pipeline as the Mariners 3rd-best prospect and the 30th overall prospect in the minor leagues. Baseball America has listed Kirby as Seattle’s 2nd-best prospect with the best fastball and command among all Mariners farmhands. As the 11th overall prospect by Baseball America, Kirby has one of the best strikeout to walk ratio in the minor leagues.
Arroyo, 18 turns 19 on Aug. 25, hit .288 (21x73) with 16 runs scored, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 18 RBI, 11 walks and 6 stolen bases in 18 games in April with Modesto. He is the youngest player on the Nuts roster and also the youngest player currently playing on a full season roster in the Mariners minor league system. The switch hitting and throwing infielder, reached base safely in 16 of 18 games during the month, including 12 games with at least 1 hit. Arroyo set a career high with 4 RBI on April 23 vs. Rancho Cucamonga (3x4, 2 R, 2B, 4 RBI) and April 29 at San Jose (4x5, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI). He recorded his first career multi-home run game on April 29 with a solo home run in the top of the first inning and 2-run homer with 1 out in the top of the 3rd inning. Over his final 7 games in April (4/23–30), Arroyo recorded 4 multi-hit games, batting .481 (13x27) with 9 runs scored, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 12 RBI, 5 walks and 4 stolen bases. During this stretch he raised his season average from .174 to .288.
Arroyo was selected by Seattle in the 2nd round (48th overall) in the 2021 MLB First Year Player Draft. The native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Arroyo was Puerto Rico’s top player in the 2021 draft class and raised his stock with an impressive showing at the Perfect Game All-America Classic. He transferred to Central Pointe Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Fla. for his senior year. Arroyo made his professional debut with the ACL Mariners in 2021, batting .211 (15x71) with 16 runs scored, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 10 RBI, 10 walks and 4 stolen bases in 21 game.
