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Chad Kuhl
Chad Kuhl
29-Year-Old PitcherSP
Pittsburgh Pirates
2021 Stats
W-L
5-6
ERA
4.72
WHIP
1.40
K
69
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
W-L
ERA
WHIP
K
SV
Unlock Our Projections
2021 Fantasy Outlook
Kuhl returned from Tommy John surgery in 2020 and made 11 appearances (nine starts) for the Pirates during the shortened season. While his average fastball velocity hovered around 95 mph in each of his two seasons prior to surgery, it dipped to 93.9 mph in 2020. His 22.3 K% remained passable, but he also had a career-worst 14.2 BB% that would have been the worst by far among qualified pitchers. While he issued more free passes, potentially due to his increased slider usage, he only allowed a .235 BABIP last year. Unfortunately, a good portion of the balls that were put into play caused damage, as he posted a 19.0% HR/FB rate. The right-hander isn't guaranteed a spot in the rotation heading into 2021, but he could better learn how to perform well using his post-surgery skill set. Kuhl will need to work on his command to offer serviceable production, but he'll likely maintain below-average fantasy marks. Read Past Outlooks
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RANKSFrom Preseason
#568
ADP
#Subscriber-Only
Overall
League Majors
Bats R
Throws R
40 Man Yes
Height 6'3"
Weight 215
DOB 9/10/1992
Born Newark, DE
College Delaware
Drafted 9th Rd 2013 PIT
$Signed a one-year, $2.13 million contract with the Pirates in January of 2020.
May get high-leverage work Thursday
PPittsburgh Pirates
September 16, 2021
Kuhl gave up one run on two hits in Wednesday's 5-4 win over Cincinnati. He struck out one batter.
ANALYSIS
Given that acting closer Chris Stratton has pitched on consecutive days and David Bednar (oblique) remains out, the team could look toward Kuhl to pitch in a high-leverage situation Thursday. Kuhl has allowed seven runs in 8.1 innings as a reliever but has compiled a home earned-run average of 2.54 (39 innings) as opposed to a 7.18 mark (36.1 innings) on the road.
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Pitching Stats
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2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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2017 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
59
Last 10 Games
25
Last 5 Games
16
How many pitches does Chad Kuhl 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+
 
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+
 
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 Chad Kuhl generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
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 2019
 
 
-2%
BAA vs LHP
2021
 
 
-8%
BAA vs RHP
2020
 
 
-16%
BAA vs LHP
2019
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2019vs Left .233 268 59 37 52 12 0 11
Since 2019vs Right .237 260 54 29 52 11 0 8
2021vs Left .260 158 33 20 34 7 0 7
2021vs Right .240 173 36 18 35 10 0 4
2020vs Left .196 110 26 17 18 5 0 4
2020vs Right .233 87 18 11 17 1 0 4
2019vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits→ View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2019
 
 
-67%
ERA at Home
2021
 
 
-64%
ERA at Home
2020
 
 
-74%
ERA at Home
2019
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2019Home 2.42 1.16 70.2 6 3 0 7.6 4.3 0.9
Since 2019Away 7.44 1.69 52.0 1 6 0 9.2 5.5 2.1
2021Home 2.54 1.15 39.0 4 2 0 6.7 4.2 0.7
2021Away 6.99 1.66 37.1 1 4 0 9.6 4.8 1.9
2020Home 2.27 1.17 31.2 2 1 0 8.8 4.5 1.1
2020Away 8.59 1.77 14.2 0 2 0 8.0 7.4 2.5
2019Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits→ View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Chad Kuhl 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.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
1.82
 
K/9
8.1
 
BB/9
4.5
 
HR/9
1.3
 
Fastball
94.2 mph
 
ERA
4.72
 
WHIP
1.40
 
BABIP
.284
 
GB/FB
1.53
 
Left On Base
66.6%
 
Exit Velocity
81.9 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.8%
 
Spin Rate
2281 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
24.2%
 
Swinging Strike
10.7%
 
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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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2020
2019
2018
2017
Kuhl didn't throw a pitch in 2019 as he spent the year recovering from Tommy John surgery. He underwent the procedure back in September of 2018, so a typical recovery timeline should have him ready to go by around the start of the regular season. Prior to his injury, Kuhl had made 61 big-league starts, posting a mediocre 4.37 ERA, good for a below-average 106 ERA-. His supporting stats also depict a pitcher who belongs at the major-league level but only as a backend starter. His career 20.4% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate and 41.0% groundball rate are all passable, but all are worse than average. The only thing that really makes him stand out from a large crop of generally forgettable pitchers is his fastball velocity, which sat at 95.4 mph in 2018, a number which would have ranked 10th among qualified starters last season. So far, however, he's yet to translate that into a good strikeout rate.
Kuhl underwent Tommy John surgery in September, wiping out his value in single-season leagues. The uncertainty that comes with recovering from such a serious surgery is enough to eliminate most of his appeal in dynasty formats as well, as he wasn't having much success prior to the injury. The 26-year-old was at least a moderately interesting pitcher when healthy, as his fastball sat north of 95 mph, suggesting upside if he could ever translate that velocity into a strikeout rate better than his unimpressive 20.4% career mark.
While Kuhl was able to tap into a significant amount of extra velocity in 2017, with his fastball clocking in at over 95 mph on average, the results were less than stellar. The velo boost did help Kuhl lift his strikeout rate by more than three percentage points (to 20.9 percent), but he gave all of that back with an even greater uptick in walks (from 6.6 percent to 10.6 percent). The right-hander allowed line drives (23.3 percent) and hard contact (36.1 percent) at a greater clip and lefties pummeled him for a .511 SLG and .376 wOBA. Kuhl finished strong with a sub-3.70 ERA in each of the final three months and he should have a rotation spot out of camp, but there's just not enough here to see Kuhl as more than a staff filler in mixed leagues. Expect only marginal improvement with the WHIP.
Kuhl started 2016 in the shadows of fellow Triple-A arms Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow but carved out his own niche by season's end. Primarily relying upon a sinking fastball (93.2 mph average) with heavy drop, Kuhl exceeded expectations and gave Pittsburgh one of its few reliable second-half starting options. He compiled a 4.20 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 50:32 K:BB in 14 starts (70.2 innings) after registering a 2.37 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 83.2 Triple-A innings. Kuhl doesn't blow hitters off the map, but few pitchers carry his feisty attitude. The innings-eater appears poised to begin 2017 in the big league rotation, and profiles long term as a No. 4 or No. 5 starter.
More Fantasy News
Earns fourth win of year Thursday
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 27, 2021
Kuhl (4-6) picked up his first relief win since moving to the bullpen, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning during Thursday's 11-7 win over St. Louis.
ANALYSIS
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Moving to bullpen
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 20, 2021
Kuhl will serve as a reliever while he builds up following his time on the COVID-19 injured list, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Returns from COVID IL
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 20, 2021
Kuhl (illness) was activated from the COVID-19 injured list Friday, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Travels with team
PPittsburgh Pirates
Illness
August 16, 2021
Kuhl (COVID-19) traveled with the Pirates during their road trip to Los Angeles, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Tests positive for COVID-19
PPittsburgh Pirates
Illness
August 2, 2021
Kuhl was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Monday after he tested positive for the virus, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
ANALYSIS
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