The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kimbrel releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 10 degrees above horizontal and 2.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
776 tracked release points, averaging 4.7 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kimbrel's sinker moves 17.5 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
53 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kimbrel throws a fastball 88.9% of the time, against 63.6% when he is ahead.
244 pitches behind in the count, 184 ahead.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kimbrel's sweeper leaves the bat at 93.2 mph, against 83.6 off his sinker.
105 and 53 of them thrown.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Kimbrel works off the plate, with only 36.5% of his pitches in the zone, 6th percentile.
189 pitches in 2026. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 504th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Kimbrel projects a .404 average, 4th percentile.
189 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 515th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kimbrel works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Knuckle Curve and Sinker. The 4-seam fastball is 66.8% of everything he throws.
776 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kimbrel's 4-seam fastball carries 14.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
518 thrown, averaging 93.6 mph.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kimbrel puts 59% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37% when he is ahead.
244 located pitches behind, 184 ahead.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.2 mph off the bat against Kimbrel, 12th percentile.
189 pitches in 2026. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 470th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .434 expected average against them, against .391 on his fastballs.
53 of his breaking balls thrown.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kimbrel's stuff spins at 2,407 rpm, 77th percentile in the league.
189 pitches in 2026. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 122nd in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kimbrel's sweeper spins at 2,589 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
105 thrown in 2026.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kimbrel averages 90.9 mph across his arsenal, 67th percentile in the league.
189 pitches in 2026. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 180th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.5% of Kimbrel's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
136 of 776 located pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kimbrel goes to the sweeper: 17.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 11.7% the rest of the time.
236 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kimbrel releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
746 tracked pitches in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kimbrel lands 39.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.3% of his breaking balls.
136 of his fastballs, 53 of his breaking balls.
He lives on one side of the plate
Kimbrel works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
776 located pitches in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Kimbrel throws a strike on the first pitch 55.9% of the time.
195 plate appearances started in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kimbrel throws the sinker 12% of the time against right-handers and 2% against left-handers.
375 pitches to right-handers, 401 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.6 mph separates Kimbrel's sinker from his knuckle curve, 93.8 against 84.2.
53 and 77 of them respectively.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 36.7% of the contact Kimbrel gives up is hit hard, 63rd percentile.
189 pitches in 2026. 63rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 199th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kimbrel's 4-seam fastball averages 93.6 mph, and has touched 96.3.
518 thrown, 66.8% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Kimbrel has thrown 23 changeups this season, 3% of his pitches, at 88.5 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
776 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kimbrel releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 10 degrees above horizontal and 2.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
776 tracked release points, averaging 4.7 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kimbrel releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
746 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kimbrel's sinker moves 17.5 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
53 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kimbrel's 4-seam fastball carries 14.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
518 thrown, averaging 93.6 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kimbrel throws a fastball 88.9% of the time, against 63.6% when he is ahead.
244 pitches behind in the count, 184 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kimbrel puts 59% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37% when he is ahead.
244 located pitches behind, 184 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kimbrel goes to the sweeper: 17.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 11.7% the rest of the time.
236 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Kimbrel throws a strike on the first pitch 55.9% of the time.
195 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kimbrel's sweeper leaves the bat at 93.2 mph, against 83.6 off his sinker.
105 and 53 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kimbrel works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Knuckle Curve and Sinker. The 4-seam fastball is 66.8% of everything he throws.
776 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kimbrel's sweeper spins at 2,589 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
105 thrown in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kimbrel throws the sinker 12% of the time against right-handers and 2% against left-handers.
375 pitches to right-handers, 401 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.6 mph separates Kimbrel's sinker from his knuckle curve, 93.8 against 84.2.
53 and 77 of them respectively.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kimbrel's 4-seam fastball averages 93.6 mph, and has touched 96.3.
518 thrown, 66.8% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Kimbrel has thrown 23 changeups this season, 3% of his pitches, at 88.5 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
776 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Kimbrel works off the plate, with only 36.5% of his pitches in the zone, 6th percentile.
189 pitches in 2026. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 504th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Kimbrel projects a .404 average, 4th percentile.
189 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 515th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.2 mph off the bat against Kimbrel, 12th percentile.
189 pitches in 2026. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 470th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 36.7% of the contact Kimbrel gives up is hit hard, 63rd percentile.
189 pitches in 2026. 63rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 199th in MLB.
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 .434 expected average against them, against .391 on his fastballs.
53 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kimbrel lands 39.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.3% of his breaking balls.
136 of his fastballs, 53 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kimbrel's stuff spins at 2,407 rpm, 77th percentile in the league.
189 pitches in 2026. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 122nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kimbrel averages 90.9 mph across his arsenal, 67th percentile in the league.
189 pitches in 2026. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 180th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.5% of Kimbrel's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
136 of 776 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Kimbrel works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
776 located pitches in 2026.
Royals