Daniel Lynch

Daniel Lynch

26-Year-Old PitcherSP
Kansas City Royals
Out
Injury Shoulder
Est. Return 4/21/2023
2023 Fantasy Outlook
The Royals had one of the worst rotations in the majors last season, and unfortunately, Lynch was part of the problem there. He pitched to a 5.13 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 122:52 K:BB across 131.2 innings spanning 27 starts in his first full season. His 3.6 BB/9 stands out as the biggest issue -- he'll need to trim that down by about one walk per nine innings to really start finding effectiveness. He surrendered less than a home run per start, but hitters still tagged him for a 47.7 percent hard-hit rate. His 19.2 percent whiff rate on a 94 mph fastball that he threw nearly half of the time in 2022 simply isn't good enough. Lynch has a chance to make the rotation again in 2023, but there are improvements to be made -- with the Royals changing their pitching coach, new input could be a benefit for the southpaw. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#588
ADP
$Signed a contract with the Royals in June of 2018.
Bound for IL with shoulder strain
PKansas City Royals
Shoulder
March 24, 2023
Lynch is expected to land on the injured list after being diagnosed with a left shoulder strain, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Lynch suffered the injury during the Royals' Cactus League game against the Padres on Thursday. He will be shut down for 7-10 days before being re-evaluated. The injury opens up a spot in Kansas City's rotation, with Kris Bubic being the most likely candidate to fill it.
Read More News
Pitching Stats
Loading Pitching Stats...
2022
2021
2022 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Loading Pitching Game Log...
2021 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Loading Pitching Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Pitching Game Log...
Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
90
Last 10 Games
92
Last 5 Games
91
How many pitches does Daniel Lynch 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+
 
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+
 
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 Daniel Lynch generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
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
 
 
-12%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-7%
BAA vs RHP
2021
 
 
-49%
BAA vs LHP
2020
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2020vs Left .260 112 19 11 25 5 0 2
Since 2020vs Right .296 799 158 72 210 34 3 28
2022vs Left .308 76 13 9 20 4 0 2
2022vs Right .287 524 109 43 135 20 1 19
2021vs Left .161 36 6 2 5 1 0 0
2021vs Right .313 275 49 29 75 14 2 9
2020vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-29%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-22%
ERA on Road
2021
 
 
-40%
ERA on Road
2020
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2020Home 6.32 1.63 89.2 3 8 0 6.8 3.6 1.4
Since 2020Away 4.50 1.56 110.0 5 11 0 8.9 3.8 1.3
2022Home 5.84 1.58 57.0 1 5 0 6.9 2.8 1.6
2022Away 4.58 1.57 74.2 3 8 0 9.4 4.1 1.3
2021Home 7.16 1.71 32.2 2 3 0 6.6 5.0 1.1
2021Away 4.33 1.56 35.1 2 3 0 7.9 3.3 1.3
2020Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Daniel Lynch compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 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 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
2.35
 
K/9
8.3
 
BB/9
3.6
 
HR/9
1.4
 
Fastball
94.0 mph
 
ERA
5.13
 
WHIP
1.57
 
BABIP
.350
 
GB/FB
1.39
 
Left On Base
72.1%
 
Exit Velocity
83.2 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.8%
 
Spin Rate
2005 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
28.3%
 
Swinging Strike
11.8%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
Loading Advanced Pitching Stats...
Defensive Stats
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Stats Vs Today's Lineup
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Daniel Lynch See More
Spring Training Job Battles: American League
23 days ago
Erik Halterman breaks down the competition for AL jobs, including in Minnesota where Nick Gordon likely will spend time at several spots around the diamond this season.
Mound Musings: A Look at Pitching in the AL Central
24 days ago
Brad Johnson breaks down the pitching situations in the AL Central, starting in Chicago where Johnson expects Lucas Giolito to have a bounce-back season.
Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Decisions, Decisions
176 days ago
Todd Zola ranks starting pitchers ahead of a short week in which workloads are full of uncertainty.
Weekly Pitcher Rankings: And Then There Was One
183 days ago
Robbie Ray tops Todd Zola's weekly pitcher rankings thanks to a pair of home matchups against a pair of struggling opponents.
DraftKings MLB: Wednesday Breakdown
186 days ago
Chris Bennett kicks off his Wednesday picks with Mariners lefty Robbie Ray down in Oakland.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
Lynch made his major-league debut last season and made 15 starts for the Royals, and he had a 5.69 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 55:31 K:BB across 68 innings. He entered the campaign as the organization's top pitching prospect, but his 7.7 percent K-BB% is a good indicator of his struggles in his first taste of the big leagues. The 25-year-old could begin the season at the back end of Kansas City's starting rotation, but it may require the team to employ a six-man rotation, so his role may not be stable.
Kansas City's host of prized young pitchers started to debut last season, but Lynch, who entered the year as the team's top pitching prospect remained at the alternate training site. The 6-foot-6 southpaw has more electric stuff than Brady Singer or Kris Bubic, but harnessing that stuff and developing his changeup required more time than the condensed season provided. He sits in the mid-90s with his fastball (touches 99) and already boasts a wipeout slider, so Lynch may have been called upon to debut out of the bullpen had the Royals factored into the postseason picture. He made strides with his changeup all summer and is now comfortable throwing it to same-handed hitters. The 24-year-old also throws an average curveball. If Lynch's command and changeup look ready, he should join the big-league rotation in the first half of this season.
Lynch, the 34th-overall pick in 2018, missed almost two months in the middle of the year with arm soreness, but he was very effective when healthy and finished the year strong in the Arizona Fall League. He is pretty advanced in that he throws four usable pitches (fastball and slider are plus, fringe-average changeup is his fourth-best offering) and has good command/control (7.0 BB% at High-A). However, at 6-foot-6, 190 pounds he is also very projectable with a chance to add velocity (fastball already sits 94-95 mph) and develop even better command. The wiry southpaw was one of the best pitchers in the AFL, logging a 19:4 K:BB in 14 innings while setting the stage for an assignment to Double-A for his age-23 season. As things stand, he projects to be a solid No. 3 starter, but if his curveball and changeup improve, he could be better than that. His future home park and division add to the appeal.
Royals GM Dayton Moore embraced his Atlanta Braves roots in the first draft of his full-on rebuild, selecting five pitchers in the first 58 picks. Lynch, who received an under-slot $1.6975 million bonus after getting popped with the 34th overall pick, had the best debut of those five hurlers. He was absolutely dominant over 51.1 innings in the Appy League and Sally League, with more strikeouts (61) than baserunners (53) and a 26.8 K-BB% that would have led all Low-A and High-A pitchers had he thrown enough innings to qualify. He also posted a groundball rate over 50% across both stops. A 6-foot-6, 190-pound southpaw out of Virginia, Lynch commands a plus 93-95 mph fastball, which allows him to get into favorable counts. From there, he is able to sit hitters down with a plethora of quality offspeed pitches -- his plus mid-80s slider is his best secondary offering. He should move quickly in his age-22 season, likely finishing the year at Double-A or Triple-A.
More Fantasy News
Exits game early
PKansas City Royals
Shoulder
March 23, 2023
Lynch was removed from Kansas City's Cactus League game against San Diego on Thursday with an apparent shoulder issue, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Working on simplifying game
PKansas City Royals
February 20, 2023
Lynch has made small changes in the offeseason to simplify his mechanics on the mound, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Allows 11 baserunners in loss
PKansas City Royals
October 4, 2022
Lynch (4-13) took the loss Tuesday in Cleveland, allowing five runs on eight hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out two in 4.2 innings.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Takes loss despite strong effort
PKansas City Royals
September 28, 2022
Lynch (4-12) allowed two earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four across six innings to take the loss Wednesday against the Tigers.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Allows two in no-decision
PKansas City Royals
September 22, 2022
Lynch did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and one walk over four innings against Minnesota. He struck out three.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.