Craig Kimbrel
36-Year-Old
Free Agent
2024 Stats
W-L
7-5
ERA
5.33
WHIP
1.36
K
73
SV
23
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Kimbrel signed a 1-year deal with Philadelphia last off-season and maintained his standing among the active saves leaders by converting a team-leading 23 saves. The veteran closer now has 417 saves for his career - 2nd among active pitchers. Kimbrel had trouble adjusting to the pitch clock - his 13 violations were most by a reliever - but he was outstanding in his age-35 season, pitching 69 innings across 71 games with a 3.26 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 94:28 K:BB ratio. He was 7th among qualified relievers in strikeouts and 15th with a 23.7% K-BB percentage despite a 10.1% walk rate. When Kimbrel allowed contact, balls were often hit hard. His 46.7% hard-hit rate (4th percentile) was poor and he gave up a career-worst 10 home runs. However, Kimbrel had dominant stretches last year, including a 13-inning scoreless streak before the All-Star break with a 20:1 K:BB. Kimbrel should have no problem finding work in 2024 given his recent success and experience in high-leverage. Read Past Outlooks
Officially released
The Orioles released Kimbrel on Tuesday, Dan Connolly of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
The 36-year-old was designated for assignment by the Orioles last week and will now officially exit the organization. Kimbrel was dominant at times this season as he racked up 23 saves in 29 opportunities, but he surrendered 23 earned runs in his last 19 appearances before Baltimore elected to move on. The right-hander finished with a 5.33 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 73:31 K:BB across 57 frames and may now find himself at a career crossroads.
The 36-year-old was designated for assignment by the Orioles last week and will now officially exit the organization. Kimbrel was dominant at times this season as he racked up 23 saves in 29 opportunities, but he surrendered 23 earned runs in his last 19 appearances before Baltimore elected to move on. The right-hander finished with a 5.33 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 73:31 K:BB across 57 frames and may now find himself at a career crossroads.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
17
Last 10 Games
20
Last 5 Games
23
How many pitches does Craig Kimbrel generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Craig Kimbrel generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-10%
BAA vs RHP
2024
-11%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .216 | 106 | 42 | 66 | 11 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .195 | 133 | 45 | 69 | 10 | |||
2024vs Left | .196 | 39 | 17 | 19 | 6 | |||
2024vs Right | .221 | 34 | 14 | 21 | 1 | |||
2023vs Left | .184 | 38 | 14 | 18 | 2 | |||
2023vs Right | .179 | 56 | 14 | 26 | 8 | |||
2022vs Left | .261 | 29 | 11 | 29 | 3 | |||
2022vs Right | .193 | 43 | 17 | 22 | 1 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-6%
ERA on Road
2024
-53%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 4.13 | 1.14 | 98.0 | 12.2 | 4.0 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 3.89 | 1.32 | 83.1 | 11.4 | 4.6 | ||||
2024Home | 7.50 | 1.54 | 24.0 | 13.5 | 6.4 | ||||
2024Away | 3.49 | 1.20 | 28.1 | 11.8 | 4.4 | ||||
2023Home | 2.72 | 0.91 | 39.2 | 12.5 | 3.2 | ||||
2023Away | 3.99 | 1.23 | 29.1 | 12.0 | 4.3 | ||||
2022Home | 3.41 | 1.14 | 34.1 | 11.0 | 3.4 | ||||
2022Away | 4.21 | 1.56 | 25.2 | 10.5 | 5.3 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Craig Kimbrel compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
2.35K/9
12.6BB/9
5.3HR/9
1.2Fastball
93.9 mphERA
5.33WHIP
1.36BABIP
.307GB/FB
0.85Left On Base
58.8%Exit Velocity
83.1 mphBarrels/BBE
6.0%Spin Rate
2379 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
22.0%Swinging Strike
12.7%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
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2012
2011
2010
The Dodgers immediately announced Kimbrel as their closer upon acquiring him despite a shaky second half in 2021 and a poor spring with velocity concerns. Kimbrel had a solid first month with Los Angeles, but was inconsistent from that point forward. He threw his historically dominant curveball roughly 10% less often (31.5% pitch usage) while losing some zip on his fastball, which proved to be ineffective. As a result, his strikeout rate plummeted by 15 percent, from 42.6% to 27.7%. The 34-year-old was able to rack up 22 saves, but officially lost the closer job in late September despite the distribution of saves chances signaling a committee much earlier than that. Kimbrel recorded only eight of the Dodgers' 23 saves after July 1 and was subsequently left off their playoff roster. The active saves leader in baseball, he secured a one-year, $10 million pact with the Phillies and should be the favorite for saves to open the season, but it's likely to be a committee approach with Seranthony Dominguez, Jose Alvarado and Gregory Soto also in the mix.
More Fantasy News
Time in Baltimore up
The Orioles designated Kimbrel for assignment Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
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Takes loss Saturday
Kimbrel (7-5) allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one over one inning, taking the loss Saturday versus the Rockies.
ANALYSIS
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Nabs win Friday
Kimbrel (7-4) allowed two hits and struck out two over a scoreless inning to earn the win Friday over the Astros.
ANALYSIS
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Yields game-winning run
Kimbrel (6-4) took the loss Sunday against Tampa Bay, allowing one run on no hits and three walks (one intentional) across one inning. He struck out two.
ANALYSIS
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Falters in non-save situation
Kimbrel (6-3) took the loss Friday versus the Padres, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out one over one inning.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Release not likely?
Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com doesn't expect the Orioles to release Kimbrel.
ANALYSIS
The veteran right-hander has given up 11 earned runs in his past 10 outings, which has bumped him out of the closer role in favor of Seranthony Dominguez. Kimbrel's 3.89 ERA and 1.23 WHIP this season aren't terrible, but he's been mostly unreliable outside of a dominant two-month stretch from May 10 to July 7. It seems unlikely at this point the Kimbrel reclaims the title of closer before the end of the season, but he could still work his way back into a high-leverage role.
The veteran right-hander has given up 11 earned runs in his past 10 outings, which has bumped him out of the closer role in favor of Seranthony Dominguez. Kimbrel's 3.89 ERA and 1.23 WHIP this season aren't terrible, but he's been mostly unreliable outside of a dominant two-month stretch from May 10 to July 7. It seems unlikely at this point the Kimbrel reclaims the title of closer before the end of the season, but he could still work his way back into a high-leverage role.