The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kuhl releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 20 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
978 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .420 expected average against them, against .250 on his offspeed pitches.
405 of his fastballs thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kuhl's sinker moves 119.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
218 thrown, averaging 93.9 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kuhl's cutter leaves the bat at 95.5 mph, against 83.0 off his sweeper.
89 and 101 of them thrown.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Kuhl works off the plate, with only 40% of his pitches in the zone, 6th percentile.
978 pitches in 2024. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 719th in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kuhl goes to the slider: 44.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 31.9% the rest of the time.
286 two-strike pitches in 2024.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.3 mph separates Kuhl's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 95.0 against 78.8.
98 and 101 of them respectively.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kuhl throws a fastball 47.7% of the time, against 29.4% when he is ahead.
300 pitches behind in the count, 252 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kuhl throws the changeup 24.3% of the time against left-handers and 1.4% against right-handers.
501 pitches to right-handers, 477 to left-handers.
He lives on one side of the plate
Kuhl works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
978 located pitches in 2024.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kuhl puts 54% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 36.1% when he is ahead.
300 located pitches behind, 252 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kuhl's sweeper spins at 2,667 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
101 thrown in 2024.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kuhl's 4-seam fastball carries 10.6 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
98 thrown, averaging 95.0 mph.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.8% of Kuhl's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
164 of 978 located pitches.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Kuhl puts 38.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.3% of his pitches to left-handers.
501 pitches to right-handed hitters, 477 to left-handed hitters.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kuhl works with 6 pitches: Slider, Sinker, Changeup and Sweeper, and a little else. The slider is 35.7% of everything he throws.
978 classified pitches in 2024.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kuhl lands 45.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36% of his breaking balls.
405 of his fastballs, 450 of his breaking balls.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kuhl lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.36 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
978 located pitches in 2024.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Kuhl is weak: 87.7 mph off the bat on average, 65th percentile.
978 pitches in 2024. 65th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 271st in MLB.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kuhl releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
978 tracked pitches in 2024.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kuhl's sinker averages 93.9 mph, and has touched 97.9.
218 thrown, 22.3% of his pitches.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kuhl releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 20 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
978 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kuhl releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
978 tracked pitches in 2024.
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 fastballs: a .420 expected average against them, against .250 on his offspeed pitches.
405 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kuhl lands 45.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36% of his breaking balls.
405 of his fastballs, 450 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kuhl's sinker moves 119.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
218 thrown, averaging 93.9 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kuhl's 4-seam fastball carries 10.6 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
98 thrown, averaging 95.0 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kuhl's cutter leaves the bat at 95.5 mph, against 83.0 off his sweeper.
89 and 101 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.3 mph separates Kuhl's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 95.0 against 78.8.
98 and 101 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kuhl throws the changeup 24.3% of the time against left-handers and 1.4% against right-handers.
501 pitches to right-handers, 477 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kuhl's sweeper spins at 2,667 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
101 thrown in 2024.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kuhl works with 6 pitches: Slider, Sinker, Changeup and Sweeper, and a little else. The slider is 35.7% of everything he throws.
978 classified pitches in 2024.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kuhl's sinker averages 93.9 mph, and has touched 97.9.
218 thrown, 22.3% of his pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Kuhl works off the plate, with only 40% of his pitches in the zone, 6th percentile.
978 pitches in 2024. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 719th in MLB.
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 Kuhl goes to the slider: 44.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 31.9% the rest of the time.
286 two-strike pitches in 2024.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kuhl throws a fastball 47.7% of the time, against 29.4% when he is ahead.
300 pitches behind in the count, 252 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kuhl puts 54% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 36.1% when he is ahead.
300 located pitches behind, 252 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on one side of the plate
Kuhl works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
978 located pitches in 2024.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.8% of Kuhl's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
164 of 978 located pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kuhl lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.36 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
978 located pitches in 2024.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Kuhl puts 38.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.3% of his pitches to left-handers.
501 pitches to right-handed hitters, 477 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Kuhl is weak: 87.7 mph off the bat on average, 65th percentile.
978 pitches in 2024. 65th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 271st in MLB.
Pirates
Career team 2016–2021