There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kikuchi's cutter leaves the bat at 97.4 mph, against 85.1 off his slider.
94 and 109 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball carries 16.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
187 thrown, averaging 95.5 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.8 mph separates Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 95.5 against 78.6.
187 and 49 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.
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 2.20 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
567 located pitches in 2026.
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.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kikuchi goes to the 4-seam fastball: 38.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 30.6% the rest of the time.
175 two-strike pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kikuchi releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 38 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
567 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
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.
187 thrown, 33% of his pitches.
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.
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.
303 tracked pitches in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kikuchi works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter, Slider and Cutter, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 33% of everything he throws.
567 classified pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kikuchi puts 63.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 49.7% when he is ahead.
152 located pitches behind, 171 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kikuchi throws the slider 33.1% of the time against left-handers and 15.3% against right-handers.
443 pitches to right-handers, 124 to left-handers.
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 runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kikuchi's splitter moves 9.7 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
125 thrown, averaging 86.7 mph.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Kikuchi's fastball averages 93.8 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 93.2 past his 75th.
91 early fastballs, 43 late ones.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kikuchi throws a strike on the first pitch 62.7% of the time.
142 plate appearances started 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.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kikuchi's curveball spins at 2,595 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
49 thrown in 2026.
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.
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 97.4 mph, against 85.1 off his slider.
94 and 109 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.8 mph separates Kikuchi's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 95.5 against 78.6.
187 and 49 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.
187 thrown, 33% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kikuchi works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter, Slider and Cutter, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 33% of everything he throws.
567 classified pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kikuchi throws the slider 33.1% of the time against left-handers and 15.3% against right-handers.
443 pitches to right-handers, 124 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kikuchi's curveball spins at 2,595 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
49 thrown in 2026.
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 16.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
187 thrown, averaging 95.5 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kikuchi's splitter moves 9.7 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
125 thrown, averaging 86.7 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
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 2.20 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
567 located pitches in 2026.
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
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kikuchi goes to the 4-seam fastball: 38.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 30.6% the rest of the time.
175 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kikuchi puts 63.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 49.7% when he is ahead.
152 located pitches behind, 171 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kikuchi throws a strike on the first pitch 62.7% of the time.
142 plate appearances started in 2026.
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 38 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
567 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 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.
303 tracked pitches in 2026.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Kikuchi's fastball averages 93.8 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 93.2 past his 75th.
91 early fastballs, 43 late ones.
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 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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