There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kikuchi's cutter leaves the bat at 96.3 mph, against 85.4 off his slider.
101 and 291 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball carries 14.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
477 thrown, averaging 95.5 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.0 mph separates Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 95.5 against 79.5.
477 and 118 of them respectively.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Kikuchi throws 40.5% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 47.4% with the bases empty.
158 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 409 with the bases empty.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kikuchi releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 35 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
1202 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Kikuchi lives in the strike zone: 45.5% of his pitches are in it, 77th percentile.
567 pitches in 2026. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 124th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kikuchi lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.23 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1202 located pitches in 2026.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .367 expected average against them, against .314 on his offspeed pitches.
284 of his fastballs thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball averages 95.5 mph, and has touched 98.6.
477 thrown, 39.7% of his pitches.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kikuchi throws a strike on the first pitch 64.8% of the time.
304 plate appearances started in 2026.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Kikuchi puts 44.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 48.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
443 pitches to right-handed hitters, 124 to left-handed hitters.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kikuchi puts 63.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 47.4% when he is ahead.
295 located pitches behind, 386 ahead.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.2 mph off the bat against Kikuchi, 24th percentile.
567 pitches in 2026. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 407th in MLB.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kikuchi releases the ball 6.8 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
938 tracked pitches in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kikuchi works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Splitter and Curveball, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 39.7% of everything he throws.
1202 classified pitches in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kikuchi lands 48.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.8% of his offspeed pitches.
284 of his fastballs, 125 of his offspeed pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kikuchi's curveball spins at 2,588 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
118 thrown in 2026.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Kikuchi projects a .346 average, 31st percentile.
567 pitches in 2026. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 372nd in MLB.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Kikuchi's stuff spins at 2,187 rpm, 35th percentile in the league.
567 pitches in 2026. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 351st in MLB.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Kikuchi's fastball averages 94.6 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 94.2 past his 75th.
175 early fastballs, 94 late ones.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kikuchi throws the splitter 21.4% of the time against right-handers and 7.4% against left-handers.
878 pitches to right-handers, 324 to left-handers.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kikuchi's splitter moves 8.7 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
212 thrown, averaging 86.5 mph.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.4% of Kikuchi's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
257 of 1202 located pitches.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
42.6% of the contact Kikuchi gives up is hit hard, 36th percentile.
567 pitches in 2026. 36th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 346th in MLB.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kikuchi's cutter leaves the bat at 96.3 mph, against 85.4 off his slider.
101 and 291 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.0 mph separates Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 95.5 against 79.5.
477 and 118 of them respectively.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball averages 95.5 mph, and has touched 98.6.
477 thrown, 39.7% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kikuchi works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Splitter and Curveball, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 39.7% of everything he throws.
1202 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kikuchi's curveball spins at 2,588 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
118 thrown in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kikuchi throws the splitter 21.4% of the time against right-handers and 7.4% against left-handers.
878 pitches to right-handers, 324 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
Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball carries 14.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
477 thrown, averaging 95.5 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kikuchi's splitter moves 8.7 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
212 thrown, averaging 86.5 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Kikuchi throws 40.5% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 47.4% with the bases empty.
158 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 409 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kikuchi releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 35 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
1202 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kikuchi releases the ball 6.8 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
938 tracked pitches in 2026.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Kikuchi's fastball averages 94.6 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 94.2 past his 75th.
175 early fastballs, 94 late ones.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Kikuchi lives in the strike zone: 45.5% of his pitches are in it, 77th percentile.
567 pitches in 2026. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 124th 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
Kikuchi lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.23 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1202 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.4% of Kikuchi's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
257 of 1202 located pitches.
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 .367 expected average against them, against .314 on his offspeed pitches.
284 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kikuchi lands 48.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.8% of his offspeed pitches.
284 of his fastballs, 125 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kikuchi throws a strike on the first pitch 64.8% of the time.
304 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kikuchi puts 63.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 47.4% when he is ahead.
295 located pitches behind, 386 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Kikuchi puts 44.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 48.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
443 pitches to right-handed hitters, 124 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.2 mph off the bat against Kikuchi, 24th percentile.
567 pitches in 2026. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 407th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Kikuchi projects a .346 average, 31st percentile.
567 pitches in 2026. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 372nd in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
42.6% of the contact Kikuchi gives up is hit hard, 36th percentile.
567 pitches in 2026. 36th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 346th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Kikuchi's stuff spins at 2,187 rpm, 35th percentile in the league.
567 pitches in 2026. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 351st in MLB.
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