A.J. Puk
29-Year-Old
2024 Stats
W-L
4-9
ERA
3.15
WHIP
1.11
K
88
SV
3
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Acquired by Miami last February, Puk locked down the primary save share early in the season, converting 6 of the Marlins' first 10 saves. The momentum the southpaw was gaining in the 9th inning was halted by a mid-May trip to the injured list due to nerve irritation in his throwing elbow. Fortunately, he only missed 3 weeks and reclaimed closing duties upon his return. Puk racked up 9 more saves until a brutal July (10.24 ERA) forced manager Skip Schumaker to make a closer change. The 28-year-old rebounded over the final two months to finish the season with a career-high 15 saves, 7 wins and 78:13 K:BB ratio across 56.2 innings. Puk's 26.9% K-BB percentage was 3rd-best among qualified relievers, so there's a good chance he sees save opportunities again in 2024. Read Past Outlooks
Collects third save
Puk gave up a hit and struck out three in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his third save of the season in a 7-4 win over the Brewers.
ANALYSIS
A Diamondbacks reliever hadn't recorded a traditional save since Sept. 3, but with the team protecting a three-run lead Friday, Justin Martinez was deployed in the seventh inning to face the heart of the Brewers' order, while Ryan Thompson got the eighth and Puk handled the ninth. If Martinez is moving into a highest-leverage role rather than being held back for the ninth, it could open up a save chance or two over the final week of the season for Puk, who is on an impressive roll -- he's hasn't been tagged for a run since Aug. 2, posting a 0.53 WHIP and 34:3 K:BB over his last 20.2 innings with two saves and five holds.
A Diamondbacks reliever hadn't recorded a traditional save since Sept. 3, but with the team protecting a three-run lead Friday, Justin Martinez was deployed in the seventh inning to face the heart of the Brewers' order, while Ryan Thompson got the eighth and Puk handled the ninth. If Martinez is moving into a highest-leverage role rather than being held back for the ninth, it could open up a save chance or two over the final week of the season for Puk, who is on an impressive roll -- he's hasn't been tagged for a run since Aug. 2, posting a 0.53 WHIP and 34:3 K:BB over his last 20.2 innings with two saves and five holds.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
19
Last 10 Games
15
Last 5 Games
14
How many pitches does A.J. Puk 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 A.J. Puk 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 2022
-27%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-13%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .174 | 90 | 10 | 42 | 7 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .237 | 152 | 54 | 116 | 15 | |||
2024vs Left | .176 | 32 | 4 | 15 | 1 | |||
2024vs Right | .203 | 56 | 24 | 36 | 4 | |||
2023vs Left | .197 | 29 | 2 | 14 | 3 | |||
2023vs Right | .261 | 49 | 11 | 40 | 7 | |||
2022vs Left | .153 | 29 | 4 | 13 | 3 | |||
2022vs Right | .252 | 47 | 19 | 40 | 4 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-46%
ERA on Road
2024
-36%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 4.35 | 1.23 | 99.1 | 11.5 | 3.4 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 2.37 | 1.05 | 95.0 | 10.9 | 2.6 | ||||
2024Home | 3.79 | 1.13 | 38.0 | 11.1 | 4.0 | ||||
2024Away | 2.43 | 1.08 | 33.1 | 11.1 | 3.0 | ||||
2023Home | 5.29 | 1.45 | 32.1 | 14.2 | 2.5 | ||||
2023Away | 2.22 | 0.82 | 24.1 | 10.0 | 1.5 | ||||
2022Home | 4.03 | 1.10 | 29.0 | 9.0 | 3.4 | ||||
2022Away | 2.41 | 1.18 | 37.1 | 11.3 | 2.9 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does A.J. Puk 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
3.14K/9
11.1BB/9
3.5HR/9
0.6Fastball
95.3 mphERA
3.15WHIP
1.11BABIP
.289GB/FB
0.91Left On Base
66.7%Exit Velocity
79.6 mphBarrels/BBE
2.5%Spin Rate
2195 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
19.6%Swinging Strike
15.0%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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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Puk finally faded the injury bug, setting personal marks in both innings (66.1) and games played (62) after moving to the bullpen. The 6-foot-7 southpaw struck out 76 batters via his 97 mph fastball, slider and occasional sinker, while maintaining mostly above-average Statcast metrics. The few areas of deficiency were barrel percentage (8.8%) and walk rate (8.2%), especially after Puk exhibited shaky control in the second half. However, Puk's ascension to high leverage was no surprise, especially given the wave of injuries to his bullpen mates. He compiled four wins, 20 holds (T-13th in AL) and four saves, three of which came within a two-week span right after the All-Star break. Puk has the upside to close full-time, but he'll open spring training in the competition for a rotation spot. He's primarily worked as a reliever since he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017, so his outlook is murky at best if he sticks as a starter.
More Fantasy News
Winds up with save
Puk picked up the save Sunday against Pittsburgh, striking out one during two-thirds of a perfect inning.
ANALYSIS
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Pitches in sixth inning
Puk allowed one run on three hits over one-third of an inning in Friday's 9-8 win over the Pirates.
ANALYSIS
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Opening for saves
Puk and Kevin Ginkel are the favorites for save opportunities after Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo removed Paul Sewald from the closer role Friday, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Makes Arizona debut
Puk allowed one walk and struck out one over a scoreless eighth inning in Saturday's 9-5 win over the Pirates.
ANALYSIS
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Heading to Arizona
The Diamondbacks acquired Puk from the Marlins on Thursday in exchange for first baseman Deyvison De Los Santos and infielder Andrew Pintar, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Moving at deadline?
Puk's re-emergence as a reliever after beginning the season in the rotation makes him a strong candidate to be traded ahead of Tuesday's deadline, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN.com.
ANALYSIS
Miami elected to move Puk into the rotation during the offseason, but that experiment ended after just four starts and shoulder fatigue. The left-hander surrendered 14 earned runs over 13.2 innings as a starter, but he's been dominant in 28 outings since returning to a relief role with a 2.08 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 33:6 K:BB. Closer Tanner Scott is the big name in Miami's bullpen that's a sure bet to be traded due to his expiring contract, but Puk could provide similar value for contenders while also being under team control for two more years.
Miami elected to move Puk into the rotation during the offseason, but that experiment ended after just four starts and shoulder fatigue. The left-hander surrendered 14 earned runs over 13.2 innings as a starter, but he's been dominant in 28 outings since returning to a relief role with a 2.08 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 33:6 K:BB. Closer Tanner Scott is the big name in Miami's bullpen that's a sure bet to be traded due to his expiring contract, but Puk could provide similar value for contenders while also being under team control for two more years.