Out
Injury Forearm
Est. Return 2/1/2021
2020 Stats
W-L
0-0
ERA
4.50
WHIP
2.00
K
3
SV
0
2021 Projections
2021 Fantasy Outlook
The 27-year-old was poised to begin the 2020 campaign as Pittsburgh's undisputed closer, but he ended up appearing in only three games in the final year of his contract. Kela was late to report for summer camp amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and he went down with a season-ending forearm injury shortly after rejoining the team in August. The right-hander has a 2.87 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 153:48 K:BB over 122.1 innings since 2017, and he also has a 31.1 K% during that stretch. Most of the concerns here are with injuries and attitude, as he's been in altercations with both other teams and his own. Kela's raw numbers support a high-leverage role, but he's dealt with numerous injuries over the past few years in addition to the off-field issues, so he's unlikely to begin spring training with a guaranteed role wherever he lands. Read Past Outlooks

Shifts to 45-day IL
The Pirates transferred Kela (forearm) from the 10-day injured list to the 45-day IL on Sunday.
ANALYSIS
Kela wasn't a candidate to rejoin the Pirates before Sunday's season finale in Cleveland, so his move to the 45-day IL was merely designed to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Andrew Susac. Viewed by many as the frontrunner to close for the Pirates this season, Kela was limited to just three appearances, as he missed time after testing positive for COVID-19 before being shut down with forearm tightness in August. He didn't record a save in any of those outings.
Kela wasn't a candidate to rejoin the Pirates before Sunday's season finale in Cleveland, so his move to the 45-day IL was merely designed to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for catcher Andrew Susac. Viewed by many as the frontrunner to close for the Pirates this season, Kela was limited to just three appearances, as he missed time after testing positive for COVID-19 before being shut down with forearm tightness in August. He didn't record a save in any of those outings.
Pitching Stats
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2020
2019
2018
2017
2020 MLB Game Log
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Minor League Game Log

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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
18
Last 10 Games
18
Last 5 Games
18
How many pitches does Keone Kela 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 Keone Kela 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
-36%
BAA vs RHP
2020
Even Split
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2018vs Left | .248 | 36 | 17 | 31 | 4 | |||
Since 2018vs Right | .159 | 66 | 14 | 29 | 5 | |||
2020vs Left | .333 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
2020vs Right | .333 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||
2019vs Left | .200 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 1 | |||
2019vs Right | .164 | 25 | 3 | 11 | 2 | |||
2018vs Left | .268 | 27 | 9 | 22 | 2 | |||
2018vs Right | .147 | 39 | 10 | 16 | 3 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2018
-43%
ERA at Home
2020
-100%
ERA at Home
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2018Home | 2.11 | 1.08 | 42.2 | 11.4 | 3.8 | ||||
Since 2018Away | 3.73 | 1.10 | 41.0 | 10.5 | 2.9 | ||||
2020Home | 0.00 | 2.00 | 1.0 | 18.0 | 9.0 | ||||
2020Away | 9.00 | 2.00 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 | ||||
2019Home | 2.25 | 1.19 | 16.0 | 9.6 | 4.5 | ||||
2019Away | 1.98 | 0.80 | 13.2 | 10.5 | 2.0 | ||||
2018Home | 2.10 | 0.97 | 25.2 | 12.3 | 3.2 | ||||
2018Away | 4.44 | 1.22 | 26.1 | 10.6 | 3.4 | ||||
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.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 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 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
3.00K/9
13.5BB/9
4.5HR/9
4.5Fastball
96.4 mphERA
4.50WHIP
2.00BABIP
.431GB/FB
1.00Left On Base
115.4%Exit Velocity
79.6 mphBarrels/BBE
0.0%Spin Rate
2231 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
20.0%Swinging Strike
12.7%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Keone Kela

Bernie Pleskoff analyzes intriguing prospects from the NL and AL West and discusses whether they will be on his draft list for 2021.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
Kela had a rough 2019 around dealing with a shoulder injury that cost him over two months of time, as well as two well-publicized altercations -- one with his own front office and the other being with the Reds. When he did pitch, the results were very positive as the reliever struck out 28% of the batters he faced and held opposing hitters to a .178 average with a 1.01 WHIP. The 19 K-BB% isn't elite, but Kela has closer-worth skills across the board the past few years, and yet only once has he been the primary closer. The opportunity should be there for him now considering he is in his walk year, and the Pirates will likely want to enhance his trade value by allowing him to re-establish himself as a closer. The issues with Kela are mostly from the neck up, and that doesn't show up in the stats. A late-round pick that could turn a nice profit if his maturity can take a step forward.
More Fantasy News

Shifts focus to offseason
Kela (forearm) is playing light catch on flat ground but has shifted his focus to preparing for the offseason, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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May not return
Kela (forearm) continues to work toward his return, though the Pirates aren't sure he'll have time to do so before the end of the season, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
ANALYSIS
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Throws off mound
Kela (forearm) has thrown off a mound in recent days, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Nearing bullpen session
Kela (forearm) played catch from 120 feet Wednesday and could throw a bullpen session later this week, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Lands on IL with forearm injury
Kela was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with right forearm tightness, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
ANALYSIS
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