2020 Stats
W-L
2-4
ERA
5.17
WHIP
1.30
K
47
SV
0
2021 Projections
2021 Fantasy Outlook
On the surface, Kikuchi has had some rough sledding in his transition from pitching in Japan to pitching in the majors. Two consecutive season of bad ratios and a lack of wins while pitching for a perpetually rebuilding Seattle franchise. If you solely focus on the surface stats, you will miss the progress he is making as a pitcher. The southpaw added a new cutter in 2020 and made it his primary pitch, but like with anything new, it took some time getting used to. Kikuchi struggled with walks, but still struck out nearly a quarter of the hitters he faced and his expected stats do not look like they belong to a guy coming off a 5.17 ERA and 1.30 WHIP season. The cutter helped him greatly against righties as their weighted on-base average against him dropped 75 points year over year. Seattle is not a great team, but Kikuchi is a good pitcher whose surface stats create a strong buying opportunity in 2021. Read Past Outlooks

Looks set to deliver on promise
Kikuchi, who made several offseason improvements, appeared to back up general manager Jerry Dipoto's recent proclamation that the left-hander is ready for a "breakout" during his first Cactus League start, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. "Everything that he was doing [in 2020] suggested that he should be experiencing more success," Dipoto said. "I don't know that we had a single pitcher that was probably more unlucky than Yusei last year. I know it's been an inconsistent couple of years, albeit one truncated season. But we love his stuff."
ANALYSIS
Kikuchi threw 29 pitches across two innings against an Indians B squad Tuesday, allowing one earned run on a hit and walk while recording three strikeouts. The 29-year-old was able to hit 96 mph with his four-seam fastball and remained at 95 mph for the majority of his outing while also utilizing two of his secondary pitches for strikeouts. Kikuchi's velocity uptick was already evident during a 2020 season in which the gap between his expected ERA (3.51) and actual ERA (5.17) was the third largest among 108 qualified pitchers. He also reduced his HR/9 from 2019's 2.0 to 0.6 last season.
Kikuchi threw 29 pitches across two innings against an Indians B squad Tuesday, allowing one earned run on a hit and walk while recording three strikeouts. The 29-year-old was able to hit 96 mph with his four-seam fastball and remained at 95 mph for the majority of his outing while also utilizing two of his secondary pitches for strikeouts. Kikuchi's velocity uptick was already evident during a 2020 season in which the gap between his expected ERA (3.51) and actual ERA (5.17) was the third largest among 108 qualified pitchers. He also reduced his HR/9 from 2019's 2.0 to 0.6 last season.
Pitching Stats
Loading Pitching Stats...
2020
2019
2020 MLB Game Log
Loading Pitching Game Log...
Minor League Game Log

Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Pitching Game Log...
Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
88
Last 10 Games
88
Last 5 Games
90
How many pitches does Yusei Kikuchi generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Yusei Kikuchi generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2018
-8%
BAA vs LHP
2020
-18%
BAA vs RHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2018vs Left | .267 | 38 | 12 | 47 | 8 | |||
Since 2018vs Right | .289 | 124 | 56 | 188 | 31 | |||
2020vs Left | .279 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 0 | |||
2020vs Right | .228 | 35 | 13 | 28 | 3 | |||
2019vs Left | .263 | 27 | 7 | 35 | 8 | |||
2019vs Right | .304 | 89 | 43 | 160 | 28 | |||
2018vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
2018vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2018
-7%
ERA on Road
2020
-2%
ERA at Home
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2018Home | 5.58 | 1.45 | 101.2 | 7.4 | 3.3 | ||||
Since 2018Away | 5.21 | 1.49 | 107.0 | 6.6 | 2.8 | ||||
2020Home | 5.13 | 1.18 | 26.1 | 9.2 | 4.1 | ||||
2020Away | 5.23 | 1.45 | 20.2 | 8.7 | 3.5 | ||||
2019Home | 5.73 | 1.54 | 75.1 | 6.8 | 3.0 | ||||
2019Away | 5.21 | 1.49 | 86.1 | 6.2 | 2.6 | ||||
2018Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
2018Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Yusei Kikuchi compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
2.35K/9
9.0BB/9
3.8HR/9
0.6Fastball
95.0 mphERA
5.17WHIP
1.30BABIP
.308GB/FB
2.43Left On Base
59.9%Exit Velocity
82.5 mphBarrels/BBE
2.2%Spin Rate
2196 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
21.4%Swinging Strike
12.8%Advanced Pitching Stats
Loading Advanced Pitching Stats...
Defensive Stats
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Stats Vs Today's Lineup
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Yusei Kikuchi

Erik Siegrist takes a look at the potential keeper-league value to be found in AL job battles, as Jared Walsh could become this year's Luke Voit.

Todd Zola and Clay Link recap the news from around Major League Baseball. Nick Senzel tabbed the Reds' everyday CF...are you drafting him? Would you draft Senzel over Kelenic?

Erik Halterman analyzes the top job battles on every major league team, including a look at the Mets' closer situation. Will Edwin Diaz regain the job this season?

Clay Link breaks down his team from the FSGA Champions League draft which took place Monday, Feb. 22.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2020
2019
2016
Kikuchi fell far short of expectations in his first major-league season, posting a 5.46 ERA and 1.52 WHIP after recording a 2.50 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over three seasons in Japan. The 28-year-old struggled to miss bats, posting a 16.1 K% that would have ranked fourth worst among major-league starters had he logged enough innings to qualify, along with a middling 8.8% swinging-strike rate. The Mariners took measures to limit Kikuchi's workload as he adjusted to the rigors of the MLB schedule. The southpaw served up a whopping 36 home runs despite throwing only 161.2 frames, with right-handed batters teeing off to the tune of .304/.359/.545 against Kikuchi. He figures to have a rotation spot on a rebuilding Mariners club, but there is little reason to think a big improvement is coming in his second big-league season. Throw your dart elsewhere.
More Fantasy News

Draws Tuesday start
Kikuchi, the Mariners' projected No. 3 starter, will make his Cactus League debut Tuesday against the Indians, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.

Drops weight in offseason
Kikuchi reported to spring camp having dropped 10 pounds over the offseason, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.

Solid in no-decision
Kikuchi took a no-decision during Friday's loss despite blanking the A's across six innings. He allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.

Walks six in loss
Kikuchi (2-4) was charged with the loss against the Padres on Friday after surrendering five runs on four hits and six walks while striking out three across four innings.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.

Takes third loss
Kikuchi (2-3) was charged with the loss against the Diamondbacks on Friday, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five across six innings.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.