Kirby will begin the 2022 campaign at Double-A Arkansas after Matt Brash was named the Mariners' fifth starter Saturday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Kirby has performed well in the minors to begin his career, and he'll attempt to continue making his case for a big-league roster spot early in the 2022 campaign. He had a lackluster 7.04 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 7.2 innings across three appearances (one start) this spring, but he posted a strong 12:2 K:BB. He tossed just 67.2 innings in the minors last year, and while he was unable to crack the Mariners' rotation to begin the regular season, it seems likely that the 24-year-old will make his major-league debut at some point in 2022 once he gets some more experience in the minors.