2018 Stats
W-L
3-4
ERA
3.29
WHIP
1.10
K
66
SV
24
2019 Projections
2019 Fantasy Outlook
Kela began the season as the Rangers' closer, recording 24 saves before being shipped to the Pirates on July 30. With the Bucs, Kela transitioned to a setup role where he'll likely stay so long as Felipe Vazquez remains in Pittsburgh. Coming off a couple of injury-riddled seasons where he averaged just 36.1 innings a year, Kela was shut down in early September, with 51 solid frames under his belt. For the season, he shaved a couple percentage points of his walk rate without sacrificing much dominance. Kela relies primarily on a four-seamer he rushes to the plate at 97 mph along with a curve as his secondary offering. Lefties had better numbers than usual against Kela, but most of that was a result of a small-sample .377 BABIP. With a strikeout rate north of 30%, Kela is in play in all formats and is especially appealing in leagues scoring holds, as he should be among the league leaders. Read Past Outlooks
Comes to terms
Kela agreed to a one-year, $3.175 million deal with the Pirates, avoiding arbitration, Robert Murray of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
While the Pirates gave up significant prospects to acquire Kela from the Rangers at the deadline, he would need Felipe Vazquez to either get hurt or traded to start getting saves on a regular basis. This is Kela's second year of arbitration, and he will go through the process again next offseason before hitting the open market in 2021.
While the Pirates gave up significant prospects to acquire Kela from the Rangers at the deadline, he would need Felipe Vazquez to either get hurt or traded to start getting saves on a regular basis. This is Kela's second year of arbitration, and he will go through the process again next offseason before hitting the open market in 2021.
Pitching Stats
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MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log
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Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2016
-20%
BAA vs RHP
2018
-45%
BAA vs RHP
| BAA | Batters | K | BB | H | HR | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2016vs Left | .217 | 198 | 58 | 21 | 38 | 6 | ||
| Since 2016vs Right | .174 | 315 | 104 | 32 | 48 | 9 | ||
| 2018vs Left | .268 | 91 | 27 | 9 | 22 | 2 | ||
| 2018vs Right | .147 | 121 | 39 | 10 | 16 | 3 | ||
| 2017vs Left | .170 | 60 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 3 | ||
| 2017vs Right | .113 | 91 | 32 | 10 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2016vs Left | .175 | 47 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 2016vs Right | .264 | 103 | 33 | 12 | 23 | 5 | ||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2016
-49%
ERA at Home
2018
-53%
ERA at Home
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2016Home | 2.66 | 1.03 | 64.1 | 11.3 | 3.5 | ||||
| Since 2016Away | 5.22 | 1.21 | 60.1 | 12.1 | 4.2 | ||||
| 2018Home | 2.10 | 0.97 | 25.2 | 12.3 | 3.2 | ||||
| 2018Away | 4.44 | 1.22 | 26.1 | 10.6 | 3.4 | ||||
| 2017Home | 1.93 | 0.75 | 18.2 | 9.6 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2017Away | 3.60 | 1.05 | 20.0 | 14.0 | 5.0 | ||||
| 2016Home | 4.05 | 1.35 | 20.0 | 11.7 | 4.5 | ||||
| 2016Away | 9.00 | 1.43 | 14.0 | 12.2 | 4.5 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Keone Kela compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 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.
K/BB
3.47K/9
11.4BB/9
3.3HR/9
0.9Fastball
96.8 mphERA
3.29WHIP
1.10BABIP
.290GB/FB
1.04Strand %
73.1%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Pirates Depth Chart
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Keone Kela
Derek VanRiper looks for undervalued pitchers by comparing multiple sets of projections to NFBC ADP data.
James Anderson wraps up his look at American League systems and thinks workload could be the only thing holding Forrest Whitley back in 2019.
Todd Zola takes a look at the end-of-season top-200 performers over the last five years and thinks Charlie Blackmon's being discounted too heavily in early drafts given his track record.
Erik Siegrist looks for potential 2019 save sources in all 30 big-league bullpens, including a peek at what might happen in Boston if Craig Kimbrel leaves as a free agent.
Brad Johnson delves into the details of his 28th Home League pitching staff, featuring Noah Syndergaard as his No. 1 starter.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2018
2017
2016
Kela was admonished to the minor leagues to begin the year in what was said to be a move to preserve team chemistry, but he was called up a couple weeks into the season and outperformed everyone not named Alex Claudio in the Rangers' bullpen the rest of the way. Using a fastball that averaged over 96 mph and a wipeout, 12-6 curveball, Kela struck batters out at a 33.8 percent clip, and he was able to limit the free passes better than he did in 2016 (4.0 BB/9). The right-hander was dominant against same-handed hitters, holding opposing righty batters to .113/.220/.150 line, and he was no slouch against lefties (.170/.267/.377). His overpowering stuff would seem to make Kela a favorite for the closer role, as has long been speculated, although his flyball tendencies ding him a bit in that regard. If he doesn't get the job out of camp, Kela should be the next man up.
More Fantasy News
Shut down for workload reasons
Kela will be shut down for the season for workload reasons, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Getting rest in September
At a minimum, Kela is expected to have a reduced workload during the remainder of the season and could be shut down, The Athletic Pittsburgh reports.
ANALYSIS
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Pitches setup role against Cards
Kela allowed two hits and no walks while striking out one batter in a scoreless seventh inning Friday.
ANALYSIS
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Won't close often
Kela is expected to serve primarily as a setup man with an opportunity for the occasional save, general manager Neal Huntington told AT&T SportsNet on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Dealt to Pittsburgh
Kela was traded from the Rangers to the Pirates on Monday in exchange for pitching prospect Taylor Hearn and a player to be named later, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.
ANALYSIS
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