Michael King

Michael King

29-Year-Old PitcherSP
San Diego Padres
2024 Fantasy Outlook
King was the Yankees' duct tape in 2023 as he fixed issues as the pitching situation broke down in New York. Need a starter? King started nine contests in the second half peaking with a 13-strikeout performance against Toronto on September 20th. Need a closer? King saved six games before the break. Need a long reliever? King had 24 outings in which he faced 5-9 batters. Throughout it all, King struck out 29.5% of the batters he faced holding them to a .223 average with solid ratios with a handful of wins and saves. He has a four-pitch repertoire against lefties with his changeup leading the way and zigs and zags against righties with sinkers and sweepers. King was the big-league headliner in the Padres' return for one year of Juan Soto, and San Diego has such little rotation depth that his role won't be in question as long as he stays healthy. It's a modest upgrade in home parks, as Yankee Stadium was close to neutral while San Diego has the second-best pitcher's park in the game, per Baseball Savant's three-year rolling park factors. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#143
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $3.15 million contract with the Padres in January of 2024.
Flirts with no-hitter in win
PSan Diego Padres
July 21, 2024
King (8-6) earned the win against Cleveland on Sunday, allowing one run on two hits and a walk over seven innings while striking out six.
ANALYSIS
For the second time this season, King threw at least six no-hit innings in a start. The 29-year-old was electric over the first six frames before running into some minor trouble in the seventh, giving up his only run. King joined Paul Skenes, Ronel Blanco and Max Fried as the only pitchers with multiple no-hit bids of at least six innings this season. King also became the first Padres pitcher with multiple no-hit bids in a season since Blake Snell in 2021. The veteran has a 3.28 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 118 innings in his first season in San Diego.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2024 MLB Game Log
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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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2020 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
93
Last 10 Games
94
Last 5 Games
91
How many pitches does Michael King 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 Michael King 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
 
 
-9%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-11%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-31%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-11%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .206 516 133 47 95 14 2 13
Since 2022vs Right .226 605 195 44 125 23 2 14
2024vs Left .232 263 61 26 54 8 1 7
2024vs Right .206 228 74 17 43 9 0 7
2023vs Left .179 182 48 17 29 4 0 4
2023vs Right .259 249 79 15 59 9 2 6
2022vs Left .179 71 24 4 12 2 1 2
2022vs Right .200 128 42 12 23 5 0 1
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-36%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-39%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-30%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-51%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 3.62 1.26 121.2 9 10 4 12.6 3.5 1.0
Since 2022Away 2.31 1.04 152.0 9 7 3 9.4 2.6 0.8
2024Home 4.25 1.29 48.2 1 4 0 13.1 3.9 1.1
2024Away 2.60 1.11 69.1 7 2 0 8.3 2.9 1.0
2023Home 3.30 1.27 46.1 2 4 3 12.2 2.9 0.8
2023Away 2.31 1.05 58.1 2 4 3 9.9 2.6 0.9
2022Home 3.04 1.16 26.2 6 2 1 12.2 3.7 1.0
2022Away 1.48 0.82 24.1 0 1 0 11.1 1.8 0.0
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Stat Review
How does Michael King 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
3.14
 
K/9
10.3
 
BB/9
3.3
 
HR/9
1.1
 
Fastball
93.2 mph
 
ERA
3.28
 
WHIP
1.19
 
BABIP
.296
 
GB/FB
1.08
 
Left On Base
75.6%
 
Exit Velocity
79.8 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.1%
 
Spin Rate
2270 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
19.2%
 
Swinging Strike
12.2%
 
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 Michael King See More
Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Proceed with Caution
6 days ago
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Weekly Pitcher Rankings: The Short and Long of It
8 days ago
Aaron Nola of the Philadelphia Phillies helps kick off the second half of the MLB season, and he's one of the headliners of Todd Zola's double dose of Weekly Pitcher Rankings.
MLB Points Leagues: The Most Compelling Players to Monitor After the Break
8 days ago
Dan Marcus puts the focus on players who carry the most intrigue heading into the second half, including Padres pitcher Michael King.
Rankings for DraftKings Post-Break Best Ball
14 days ago
Todd Zola takes a look at second-half best ball leagues from DraftKings and has Shohei Ohtani topping his rankings in the format.
Weekly Pitcher Rankings: Let's Take a Break
20 days ago
Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler has been one of the top pitchers in baseball, and Todd Zola has him at the top of the final Weekly Pitcher Rankings before the All-Star break.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2021
2020
2019
King's role as a multi-inning reliever quickly blended into high leverage, as he led the Yankees bullpen in innings (49.1), wins (six) and holds (15) in the first half. The 27-year-old added velocity on his sinker and tripled his slider usage, which led to great results. Unfortunately, his promising start to the season ended just two appearances after the All-Star break, as the right-hander fractured his elbow throwing a pitch. The injury required season-ending surgery to repair the fracture with the possibility of Tommy John as well, but King did not have any UCL damage and avoided the latter. Despite the injury, he completed 51 innings while recording career marks across multiple categories, including games played (34), wins, holds, strikeouts (66), ERA (2.29) and WHIP (1.00). King is in line to return to the mound this spring and should reclaim his multi-inning, high-leverage role for the Yankees if healthy.
Injuries throughout the Yankees' rotation presented King a chance to make an impact at the big-league level last season. However, he couldn't take advantage of the opportunity, ending the campaign with a 7.76 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over 26.2 innings. King's 5.09 xFIP implies he wasn't quite as bad as the surface numbers suggest, but it was nonetheless a disappointing showing in light of the team's need for pitching help. Despite yielding relatively modest hard-contact numbers, King was stung by both a high BABIP (.325) and high home-run rate (1.69 HR/9). Perhaps that provides an avenue for improvement, but King will also need to bring down last season's 9.1 BB%, especially given his low strikeout ceiling. He'll turn 26 years old in May, so the organization is likely more interested in seeing what King can do now than in further development.
King missed a good chunk of 2019 with a stress reaction in his elbow and ended up pitching fewer than 50 innings on the season. Over his four-year minor-league career, King has a 2.93 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, with a stingy 1.6 walks-per-nine-innings rate. He doesn't have one particularly great pitch, but a handful of pitches with excellent command help him get enough strikeouts to work as a starting pitcher. It's easy to slap a Kyle Hendricks label on him with those types of numbers, but that is unfair to King given the fact he has all but two innings of major-league experience to his name. King may lack the upside of other pitchers, but the tools are there for him to be a successful back-end starting pitcher in the major leagues, with the right defense and run support behind him. If it doesn't work out in the rotation, his lack of velocity (91 mph sinker is his fastest pitch) limits his ceiling as a reliever.
King spent time at each of the three highest levels of the minors last season, posting good numbers at each stop. In 24 total starts and one relief appearance, the 23-year-old recorded a stellar 1.79 ERA. He backed that number up with excellent peripherals, striking out 24.4% of opposing batters while walking just 4.4%. The breakout season was something of a surprise for a pitcher who hadn't recorded a strikeout rate higher than 17.8% at any prior minor-league stop and who was a 12th-round pick in 2016. He had hardly any hype when the Yankees acquired him in exchange for Garrett Cooper and Caleb Smith last offseason, but New York has one of the best reputations for player development in the league, so there's reason to believe his improvements will stick. Grades on his stuff remain mediocre, but it's possible he gets a shot as a control-first back-end starter as soon as this summer.
More Fantasy News
Strikes out nine in loss
PSan Diego Padres
July 10, 2024
King (7-6) took the loss against the Mariners on Wednesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts over six innings.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up seventh win
PSan Diego Padres
July 4, 2024
King (7-5) picked up the win Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and two walks against the Rangers. He struck out five.
ANALYSIS
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Stifles BoSox on Saturday
PSan Diego Padres
June 29, 2024
King (6-5) picked up the win Saturday, allowing one run on five hits and a walk over six innings in a 11-1 rout of the Red Sox. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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Yields five runs in loss
PSan Diego Padres
June 23, 2024
King (5-5) allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out eight over six innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Brewers.
ANALYSIS
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No-decision vs. Philly
PSan Diego Padres
June 18, 2024
King didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against the Phillies, allowing one run on six hits and three walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Yanks willing to deal him
PNew York Yankees
December 6, 2023
The Yankees are now willing to include King as part of a trade for Juan Soto, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
ANALYSIS
The Yanks initially had balked at the idea of sending King to the Padres as part of a package for Soto, but their softening of that stance has reinvigorated trade talks to the point that it appears likely it will get done. Pitching prospect Drew Thorpe has also been a main part of San Diego's ask, but Sherman implies that the Padres might now be willing to accept a different prospect. King held a 2.75 ERA and 127:32 K:BB over 104.2 innings in 2023 and thrived as a starter down the stretch with a 1.88 ERA over his final eight appearances. If a deal is completed, King would join the Padres' rotation.
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