Nathan Winston Kirby (born November 23, 1993) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He was drafted 40th overall by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

, but would never play in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB).

Amateur career

Kirby attended James River High School in

Chesterfield County, Virginia Chesterfield County is located just south of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The county's borders are primarily defined by the James River to the north and the Appomattox River to the sout ...

. As a senior, he was the Virginia

Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...

after going 9–1 with a 1.24 ERA and 90 strikeouts in innings pitched. He declared himself ineligible for the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

after electing not to fill out certain drug tests and medical forms that are required by Major League Baseball. As a freshman at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 2013, Kirby pitched in 24 games and made two starts. He finished the season 4–1 with a 6.06

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 37

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

in innings. Kirby was one of Virginia starting pitchers as a sophomore in 2014. On April 5 he pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

with 18

against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He was named the co- Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year and was named to the All-ACC First Team. He was also an All-American by

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

''. In 18 starts in 2014, he was 9–3 with a 2.06 ERA. As a junior in 2015 he compiled a 5–3 record and 2.53 ERA in 12 games (11 starts). He was named to the All-ACC First Team for the second year in a row. He ended the year by recording the final out on a called third strike as the Cavaliers defeated Vanderbilt in the College World Series final.

Professional career

Milwaukee Brewers

On June 8, 2015, Kirby was selected 40th overall by the

in the

. The Brewers finalized his signing on July 17, 2015, a few hours before the signing deadline. After five appearances in the minors for the Single-A

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton in the Fox ...

, where he posted a 5.68 ERA in innings, it was announced that Kirby would need

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. Kirby missed the entire 2016 and 2017 seasons due to injury. Kirby spent 2018 with the High-A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...

, going 3–5 with a 4.82 ERA in 27 games (11 starts). He missed all of the 2019 season after undergoing thoracic outlet surgery and fracturing a rib. Kirby did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. He was assigned to the Double-A

Biloxi Shuckers The Biloxi Shuckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Biloxi, Mississippi, and are named in reference to the city's oyster industry and seafood heri ...

to begin the 2021 season, where he logged a 1.93 ERA in 17 appearances.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 4, 2021, Kirby was traded to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in exchange for

Kevin Kramer Kevin Lowell Kramer (born October 3, 1993) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018 and 2019. Amateur career Kramer attended Turlock High School in ...

. He spent the remainder of the year with the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the ...

, but struggled to a 6.52 ERA in 17 appearances. He elected free agency following the season on November 7, but re-signed with the Pirates on a minor league contract on November 14, 2021. Kirby began the 2022 season with the Triple–A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, for whom he made 15 appearances (4 starts) and logged a 2.74 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 23.0 innings of work. He was released by the Pirates organization on June 26, 2022.

Post-playing career

In 2023, Kirby returned to the

to complete his degree.

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Nathan 1994 births Living people People from Chesterfield County, Virginia Baseball players from Richmond, Virginia Baseball pitchers Virginia Cavaliers baseball players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players All-American college baseball players Carolina Mudcats players Biloxi Shuckers players Altoona Curve players Indianapolis Indians players