2 pitchers the NY Mets should trade their top prospects for, 1 who is almost worth it

2) George Kirby is worth it

Gilbert is overshadowed because he’s in the same Mariners rotation as George Kirby. Kirby has proven to be one of the best pitchers in baseball since his debut in 2022. The right-hander throws hard with command that rivals that’s arguably better than Greg Maddux. Kirby would definitely be worth Sproat, Williams, and possibly even more.

Kirby tossed 191 innings in 2024, working to a 3.53 ERA, 3.26 FIP, and 1.07 WHIP. Kirby struck out 23% of opponents with a 1.04 HR/9 rate. The right-hander hasn’t been great at limiting hard contact, with an 89 MPH exit velocity and 8% barrel rate this past season. Kirby consistently performs to his expected stats, as he had a 3.39 xERA, 3.58 xFIP, and 3.56 SIERA.

Like a lot of the Mariners’ pitchers, Kirby has elite-level command. The M’s had three pitchers with a sub-5% BB% in 120+ innings, and Kirby was one of them at a minuscule 3%. He also had the lowest qualified walk rate among all pitchers and the lowest career walk rate among any pitcher with at least 500 career innings since the start of the expansion era in 1961 (even lower than Greg Maddux’s career-4.9% walk rate).

Kirby limits walks without sacrificing overall stuff. Stuff+ pinned Kirby’s offerings at 106, which was one of the highest in baseball last year. His four-seam fastball averages out at 96 MPH, which is in the top 80th percentile of pitchers in 2024. Kirby also comes with four years of control remaining, including one more pre-arb season.