Kris Bubic

Kris Bubic

27-Year-Old PitcherRP
Kansas City Royals
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Coming off a career high 27 starts in 2022, Bubic made just three starts with the Royals in 2023, compiling a 3.94 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and striking out a batter-per-inning before injury struck. The left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in late April making him unlikely to return in any capacity until the All-Star break. A return to the rotation has been muddied by the signings of Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, but Bubic did agree to a one-year, $2.35 million contract in December meaning he's in the Royals' plans. A wait and see approach is probably best for fantasy managers in 2024. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#362
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $2.35 million contract with the Royals in December of 2023.
Steps in for save
PKansas City Royals
September 29, 2024
Bubic picked up the save Sunday against Atlanta, allowing one hit and no walks with one strikeout across a scoreless ninth inning.
ANALYSIS
The Royals opted for Bubic in the ninth inning, giving regular closer Lucas Erceg extra rest ahead of the playoffs. Bubic capitalized with his first save of 2024. Erceg hasn't pitched since Thursday, though that outing was his third in as many days. Bubic should see high-leverage work in the postseason, but save opportunities are still expected to go to Erceg.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
18
Last 10 Games
19
Last 5 Games
19
How many pitches does Kris Bubic 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 Kris Bubic 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 2022
 
 
-18%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-30%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-42%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-23%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .337 191 36 17 56 8 2 7
Since 2022vs Right .278 585 129 53 145 30 0 14
2024vs Left .286 45 14 0 12 1 1 1
2024vs Right .200 76 25 5 14 4 0 1
2023vs Left .182 12 4 0 2 0 0 0
2023vs Right .315 56 12 2 17 3 0 1
2022vs Left .372 134 18 17 42 7 1 6
2022vs Right .287 453 92 46 114 23 0 12
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-27%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-88%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-100%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-7%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 5.68 1.62 88.2 1 8 0 7.9 3.9 1.0
Since 2022Away 4.15 1.47 86.2 3 8 1 9.0 3.3 1.1
2024Home 4.80 1.20 15.0 0 0 0 12.0 1.8 1.2
2024Away 0.59 0.85 15.1 1 1 1 11.2 1.2 0.0
2023Home 6.30 1.90 10.0 0 2 0 6.3 1.8 0.9
2023Away 0.00 0.33 6.0 0 0 0 13.5 0.0 0.0
2022Home 5.80 1.68 63.2 1 6 0 7.2 4.7 1.0
2022Away 5.37 1.71 65.1 2 7 0 8.1 4.1 1.5
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Kris Bubic 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.
  • 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
7.80
 
K/9
11.6
 
BB/9
1.5
 
HR/9
0.6
 
Fastball
93.1 mph
 
ERA
2.67
 
WHIP
1.02
 
BABIP
.340
 
GB/FB
2.87
 
Left On Base
67.4%
 
Exit Velocity
77.4 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
1.3%
 
Spin Rate
2336 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
16.1%
 
Swinging Strike
14.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
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 Kris Bubic See More
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
Bubic's 2022 was ugly, there's no questioning that. To an extent, there's some reason to be encouraged, as his .352 BABIP was unusually high and his 4.77 FIP suggests his 5.58 ERA was a bit unlucky. Still, the under-the-surface numbers don't paint a great picture, and it all comes back to one of the worst walk rates in the majors. His 4.4 BB/9 was the worst of his career, but he's never kept it under 4.0 in a single season. Bubic's fastball was up to nearly 92 mph last year, but the increase in velocity strangely led to worse results -- hitters batted .348 and slugged .587 off the pitch he threw 50.5 percent of the time last year. Bad luck aside, a change in pitching coach could help Bubic, but the 25-year-old has yet to iron out the flaws in his game that would allow him to at least hover around league-average.
The Royals system is stocked with promising young arms. While Bubic sits a bit down the pecking order, he received a head start with an accelerated 2020 debut straight out of High-A. The lefty took a small step back last season with a lower K% and higher BB%. However, neither change is cause for concern, especially since he's just 24 years old with 180 major league frames under his belt. With the requisite sample size caveat in tow, it's always encouraging when a young pitcher exhibits second half improvement and Bubic's K% jumped three ticks over the final two months. As intimated, Bubic doesn't have the prospect pedigree of others, but he can develop into a fantasy-worthy innings compiler. At his age, there is always the chance for improvement, but a 90-mph fastball does not portend emerging dominance.
While Bubic's 2020 stats do little to excite, we have to remember he was making the jump from High-A after the Royals took him with the 40th overall pick in the 2018 draft. Bubic had a 2.30 ERA across 101.2 innings at High-A Wilmington in 2019, backed up by a strong 21.2 K-BB% and 0.27 HR/9. The dramatic jump in competition proved difficult for the lefty, as evidenced by the 1-6 record and 1.48 WHIP, but he showed flashes in September in what were ultimately losses to the White Sox and Brewers. Still just 23 years old, Bubic could probably use a bit more seasoning after his arrival was expedited last season. The Royals are suddenly looking to compete and may indeed push Bubic back to the farm to start 2021. He currently lacks a true put-away pitch, but the AL Central is ripe for the picking. If he's getting starts, Bubic will immediately become a bench/streaming candidate, albeit a risky one.
Leading MiLB in strikeouts is hardly a feat that portends greatness, but there are some big hits (Brandon Woodruff in 2016, Jose Berrios in 2015) mixed in with the duds (Dean Kremer in 2018, Alec Hansen in 2017, Taylor Cole in 2014). Bubic joined this club by fanning 185 in 149.1 innings across stops at Low-A and High-A in his age-21 season. A 6-foot-3, 220-pound lefty with a low-90s fastball, plus changeup and average curveball, Bubic projects as more of a No. 4 or No. 5 starter long term. That said, any big southpaw with good command and a plus changeup has a chance to beat projections, and we won't learn a lot about his future prospects until we see how he handles Double-A and Triple-A. Bubic is part of a hoard of quality Royals pitching prospects with ETAs of 2021. His home park makes him more appealing than he would otherwise be, and if his breaking ball improves, he could develop into a No. 3 starter.
More Fantasy News
Secures first win
PKansas City Royals
September 26, 2024
Bubic (1-1) allowed a hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning to earn the win Thursday over the Nationals.
ANALYSIS
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Falters in extra innings
PKansas City Royals
September 11, 2024
Bubic (0-1) took the extra-innings loss and a blown save versus the Yankees on Wednesday, allowing two unearned runs on one hit and one walk over 1.1 innings.
ANALYSIS
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Collects hold Sunday
PKansas City Royals
September 8, 2024
Bubic struck out one over a perfect inning to earn his sixth hold of the year in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Twins.
ANALYSIS
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Perfect in debut
PKansas City Royals
July 8, 2024
Bubic struck out two during a perfect inning in a 10-1 win over the Rockies on Sunday.
ANALYSIS
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Back from injured list
PKansas City Royals
July 6, 2024
The Royals reinstated Bubic (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could be out of rotation
PKansas City Royals
September 3, 2021
Bubic pitched two innings of relief Thursday against Cleveland and appears to have been removed from Kansas City's rotation.
ANALYSIS
Jackson Kowar's call-up gives the Royals five healthy rotation options besides Bubic, who's struggled with a 5.16 ERA and 91:52 K:BB in 99.1 innings this season. The lefty had made eight relief appearances prior to Thursday, so the bullpen isn't entirely unfamiliar to him. That said, Bubic figures to pitch in only low-leverage situations and thus has minimal fantasy value going forward unless he rejoins the rotation at some point.
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