2022 Stats
W-L
6-7
ERA
3.75
WHIP
1.32
K
72
SV
22
2023 Projections
2023 Fantasy Outlook
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. Read Past Outlooks

Open to flexible role
Kimbrel has no problem being part of a closer committee this season, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
ANALYSIS
Kimbrel's 394 career saves lead all active players and rank seventh all-time, but his drop in performance over the last few seasons means he can no longer walk into a room and automatically inherit the closer title. His 3.70 ERA last season wasn't terrible, but his 27.7 percent strikeout rate represented a career low. The Phillies didn't have a dedicated closer down the stretch last season after Corey Knebel pitched his way out of the role, and they don't intend to anoint Kimbrel or anyone else to the job at the moment. Kimbrel has struggled when pitching in the eighth inning or earlier in the past, though not in large enough samples to be predictive.
Kimbrel's 394 career saves lead all active players and rank seventh all-time, but his drop in performance over the last few seasons means he can no longer walk into a room and automatically inherit the closer title. His 3.70 ERA last season wasn't terrible, but his 27.7 percent strikeout rate represented a career low. The Phillies didn't have a dedicated closer down the stretch last season after Corey Knebel pitched his way out of the role, and they don't intend to anoint Kimbrel or anyone else to the job at the moment. Kimbrel has struggled when pitching in the eighth inning or earlier in the past, though not in large enough samples to be predictive.
Pitching Stats
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2021
2020
2019
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
17
Last 10 Games
15
Last 5 Games
17
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 2020
-15%
BAA vs RHP
2022
-26%
BAA vs RHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2020vs Left | .207 | 90 | 23 | 49 | 8 | |||
Since 2020vs Right | .175 | 108 | 40 | 43 | 4 | |||
2022vs Left | .261 | 29 | 11 | 29 | 3 | |||
2022vs Right | .193 | 43 | 17 | 22 | 1 | |||
2021vs Left | .143 | 49 | 7 | 14 | 3 | |||
2021vs Right | .157 | 51 | 16 | 17 | 3 | |||
2020vs Left | .214 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 2 | |||
2020vs Right | .167 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 0 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
-16%
ERA at Home
2022
-19%
ERA at Home
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2020Home | 3.00 | 0.99 | 72.0 | 13.6 | 3.5 | ||||
Since 2020Away | 3.57 | 1.33 | 63.0 | 13.0 | 5.0 | ||||
2022Home | 3.41 | 1.14 | 34.1 | 11.0 | 3.4 | ||||
2022Away | 4.21 | 1.56 | 25.2 | 10.5 | 5.3 | ||||
2021Home | 2.12 | 0.81 | 29.2 | 15.5 | 3.6 | ||||
2021Away | 2.40 | 1.00 | 30.0 | 14.7 | 3.3 | ||||
2020Home | 4.50 | 1.00 | 8.0 | 18.0 | 3.4 | ||||
2020Away | 6.14 | 1.91 | 7.1 | 14.7 | 11.0 | ||||
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
2.57K/9
10.8BB/9
4.2HR/9
0.6Fastball
95.8 mphERA
3.75WHIP
1.32BABIP
.326GB/FB
0.97Left On Base
65.4%Exit Velocity
83.2 mphBarrels/BBE
5.5%Spin Rate
2329 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
25.0%Swinging Strike
12.3%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
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
There are a ton of narratives surrounding Kimbrel's late-season struggles, with the most popular being he didn't like being the White Sox's setup man. While changing roles after a career as a closer may have had something to do with it, degrading skills may also be in play here. From the start of the season until being traded, he had a 15.7 K/9 and 0.49 ERA with a 97.0 mph average fastball. After the trade, he had a 14.1 K/9 and 5.09 ERA with a 95.9 mph average fastball. In 2019, Kimbrel's fastball velocity averaged 96.2 mph and he posted a 6.53 ERA. He really needs his fastball over 97 mph to be effective. It wasn't just the strikeouts -- his walks allowed jumped from 3.2 BB/9 to 3.9 BB/9. The combination saw his K-BB% drop from 37.2% to 26.5%. He gained a massive boost to his fantasy value when he was traded from the White Sox to the Dodgers in early April, and manager Dave Roberts has confirmed that the right-hander will serve as the team's closer. He'll likely need to show increased velocity if he hopes to replicate his results from the first half of the 2021 campaign, but he's a much more appealing fantasy option now that he'll be closing out games for one of the best teams in baseball.
More Fantasy News

Signs with Phillies
Kimbrel signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Phillies on Friday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Left off playoff roster
Kimbrel will not be on the Dodgers' NLDS roster for the upcoming series against the Padres.
ANALYSIS
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Melts down in high-leverage spot
Kimbrel dropped to 6-7 on the season after he walked three of the five batters he faced while allowing an unearned run Tuesday in the Dodgers' 4-3 loss to the Padres in 10 innings.
ANALYSIS
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Loses closer job
Kimbrel was removed from the Dodgers' closer role Friday, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Could be losing grip on closer role
Kimbrel (6-6) earned the win over Arizona on Thursday despite allowing one run on one hit, one walk and one hit batsman over one inning. After the contest, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he'll "think through" the ninth-inning role and "figure out what's best for the ball club," per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
ANALYSIS
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