This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kilian goes to the knuckle curve: 43% of his two-strike pitches, against 21% the rest of the time.
93 two-strike pitches in 2026.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .366 expected average against them, against .254 on his fastballs.
126 of his breaking balls thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kilian's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 98.8.
154 thrown, 50.8% of his pitches.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kilian's 4-seam fastball carries 16.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
154 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kilian lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.12 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
302 located pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.1 mph separates Kilian's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 96.8 against 80.7.
154 and 84 of them respectively.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kilian throws a fastball 67.1% of the time, against 46.7% when he is ahead.
82 pitches behind in the count, 92 ahead.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kilian releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 32 degrees above horizontal and 2.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
302 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kilian lands 52.5% of his fastballs in the zone and only 30.4% of his breaking balls.
177 of his fastballs, 126 of his breaking balls.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kilian's stuff spins at 2,491 rpm, 88th percentile in the league.
303 pitches in 2026. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 65th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Kilian is weak: 85.6 mph off the bat on average, 83rd percentile.
303 pitches in 2026. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 90th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kilian's knuckle curve leaves the bat at 88.7 mph, against 84.1 off his slider.
84 and 42 of them thrown.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Kilian projects a .287 average, 83rd percentile.
303 pitches in 2026. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 90th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kilian works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Knuckle Curve, Slider and Sinker. The 4-seam fastball is 50.8% of everything he throws.
303 classified pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kilian puts 57.3% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.1% when he is ahead.
82 located pitches behind, 92 ahead.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kilian averages 91.0 mph across his arsenal, 68th percentile in the league.
303 pitches in 2026. 68th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 173rd in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 31.9% of the contact Kilian gives up is hit hard, 82nd percentile.
303 pitches in 2026. 82nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 97th in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kilian's knuckle curve moves 10.5 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
84 thrown, averaging 80.7 mph.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kilian's knuckle curve spins at 2,704 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
84 thrown in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kilian throws a strike on the first pitch 63.6% of the time.
77 plate appearances started in 2026.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kilian releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
225 tracked pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kilian throws the knuckle curve 33.7% of the time against left-handers and 19.8% against right-handers.
131 pitches to right-handers, 172 to left-handers.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kilian goes to the knuckle curve: 43% of his two-strike pitches, against 21% the rest of the time.
93 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kilian throws a fastball 67.1% of the time, against 46.7% when he is ahead.
82 pitches behind in the count, 92 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kilian puts 57.3% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.1% when he is ahead.
82 located pitches behind, 92 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kilian throws a strike on the first pitch 63.6% of the time.
77 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .366 expected average against them, against .254 on his fastballs.
126 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kilian lands 52.5% of his fastballs in the zone and only 30.4% of his breaking balls.
177 of his fastballs, 126 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kilian's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 98.8.
154 thrown, 50.8% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.1 mph separates Kilian's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 96.8 against 80.7.
154 and 84 of them respectively.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kilian's knuckle curve leaves the bat at 88.7 mph, against 84.1 off his slider.
84 and 42 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kilian works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Knuckle Curve, Slider and Sinker. The 4-seam fastball is 50.8% of everything he throws.
303 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kilian's knuckle curve spins at 2,704 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
84 thrown in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kilian throws the knuckle curve 33.7% of the time against left-handers and 19.8% against right-handers.
131 pitches to right-handers, 172 to left-handers.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kilian's 4-seam fastball carries 16.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
154 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kilian's knuckle curve moves 10.5 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
84 thrown, averaging 80.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kilian lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.12 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
302 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kilian releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 32 degrees above horizontal and 2.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
302 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kilian releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
225 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kilian's stuff spins at 2,491 rpm, 88th percentile in the league.
303 pitches in 2026. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 65th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Kilian is weak: 85.6 mph off the bat on average, 83rd percentile.
303 pitches in 2026. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 90th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Kilian projects a .287 average, 83rd percentile.
303 pitches in 2026. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 90th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 31.9% of the contact Kilian gives up is hit hard, 82nd percentile.
303 pitches in 2026. 82nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 97th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kilian averages 91.0 mph across his arsenal, 68th percentile in the league.
303 pitches in 2026. 68th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 173rd in MLB.
Giants
Career team 2026