His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kerkering's 4-seam fastball averages 97.1 mph, and has touched 99.7.
381 thrown, 34.9% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kerkering's sinker moves 16.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
196 thrown, averaging 96.1 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kerkering's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 89.0 mph, against 78.8 off his sinker.
381 and 196 of them thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kerkering throws a fastball 63.1% of the time, against 44.2% when he is ahead.
312 pitches behind in the count, 303 ahead.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Kerkering is weak: 79.2 mph off the bat on average, 99th percentile.
280 pitches in 2026. 99th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 4th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kerkering's 4-seam fastball carries 15.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
381 thrown, averaging 97.1 mph.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kerkering averages 92.3 mph across his arsenal, 83rd percentile in the league.
280 pitches in 2026. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 93rd in MLB.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kerkering's stuff spins at 2,538 rpm, 92nd percentile in the league.
280 pitches in 2026. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 46th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Kerkering projects a .192 average, 99th percentile.
280 pitches in 2026. 99th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 4th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .228 expected average against them, against .164 on his fastballs.
121 of his breaking balls thrown.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Kerkering lives in the strike zone: 45.7% of his pitches are in it, 79th percentile.
280 pitches in 2026. 79th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 115th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kerkering's sweeper spins at 2,922 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
455 thrown in 2026.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 18.4% of the contact Kerkering gives up is hit hard, 98th percentile.
280 pitches in 2026. 98th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 10th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kerkering throws the 4-seam fastball 48.6% of the time against left-handers and 21.7% against right-handers.
558 pitches to right-handers, 535 to left-handers.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kerkering lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.30 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1093 located pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kerkering puts 53.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.6% when he is ahead.
312 located pitches behind, 303 ahead.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Kerkering releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1012 tracked pitches in 2026.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kerkering goes to the splitter: 8.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 3.5% the rest of the time.
316 two-strike pitches in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kerkering works with 4 pitches: Sweeper, 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker and Splitter. The sweeper is 41.6% of everything he throws.
1093 classified pitches in 2026.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Kerkering throws 44% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.6% with the bases empty.
91 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 189 with the bases empty.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kerkering releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 45 degrees above horizontal and 1.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1093 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.1 mph separates Kerkering's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 97.1 against 87.0.
381 and 455 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
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His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kerkering's 4-seam fastball averages 97.1 mph, and has touched 99.7.
381 thrown, 34.9% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kerkering's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 89.0 mph, against 78.8 off his sinker.
381 and 196 of them thrown.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kerkering's sweeper spins at 2,922 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
455 thrown in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kerkering throws the 4-seam fastball 48.6% of the time against left-handers and 21.7% against right-handers.
558 pitches to right-handers, 535 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kerkering works with 4 pitches: Sweeper, 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker and Splitter. The sweeper is 41.6% of everything he throws.
1093 classified pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.1 mph separates Kerkering's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 97.1 against 87.0.
381 and 455 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kerkering's sinker moves 16.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
196 thrown, averaging 96.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kerkering's 4-seam fastball carries 15.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
381 thrown, averaging 97.1 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 Kerkering throws a fastball 63.1% of the time, against 44.2% when he is ahead.
312 pitches behind in the count, 303 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kerkering puts 53.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.6% when he is ahead.
312 located pitches behind, 303 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kerkering goes to the splitter: 8.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 3.5% the rest of the time.
316 two-strike pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Kerkering is weak: 79.2 mph off the bat on average, 99th percentile.
280 pitches in 2026. 99th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 4th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Kerkering projects a .192 average, 99th percentile.
280 pitches in 2026. 99th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 4th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 18.4% of the contact Kerkering gives up is hit hard, 98th percentile.
280 pitches in 2026. 98th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 10th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kerkering averages 92.3 mph across his arsenal, 83rd percentile in the league.
280 pitches in 2026. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 93rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kerkering's stuff spins at 2,538 rpm, 92nd percentile in the league.
280 pitches in 2026. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 46th 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 .228 expected average against them, against .164 on his fastballs.
121 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Kerkering lives in the strike zone: 45.7% of his pitches are in it, 79th percentile.
280 pitches in 2026. 79th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 115th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kerkering lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.30 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1093 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Kerkering releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1012 tracked pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kerkering releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 45 degrees above horizontal and 1.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1093 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Kerkering throws 44% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.6% with the bases empty.
91 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 189 with the bases empty.
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