Michael King
30-Year-Old
Free Agent
2025 Stats
W-L
5-3
ERA
3.44
WHIP
1.20
K
76
SV
0
2026 Projections
2026 Fantasy Outlook
It was not an ideal walk year for King. After posting a sub-3.00 ERA and topping 200 strikeouts in 2024 in his first full major-league season as a starter, King was limited to just 15 starts in 2025, mostly due to a thoracic nerve impingement in his right shoulder. He also dealt with a knee issue late in the year and held a 6.11 ERA and 12:9 K:BB over 17.2 frames covering his final five regular-season starts before being left out of the Padres' postseason rotation. King's velocity down the stretch was fine, and he entered the offseason with a clean bill of health. That said, given the nature of the shoulder issue, the 30-year-old will head into the 2026 campaign as a major injury risk. We also don't know where King will pitch yet, throwing another uncertainty log onto the fire. Read Past Outlooks
Signed a one-year, $7.75 million contract with the Padres in January of 2025. Declined $15 million player option for 2026 in November of 2025.
Passes on qualifying offer
King rejected the Padres' $22.025 million qualifying offer Tuesday, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.
Analysis
King was limited to 15 regular-season starts in 2025 due to shoulder and knee issues, but it's still not a surprise he elected to turn down the qualifying offer. King posted a 3.44 ERA over 73.1 innings last year and had a 2.95 ERA during his first season as a full-time starter in 2024. Extending the qualifying offer will net the Padres a compensatory draft pick, assuming he doesn't re-sign with the team.
King was limited to 15 regular-season starts in 2025 due to shoulder and knee issues, but it's still not a surprise he elected to turn down the qualifying offer. King posted a 3.44 ERA over 73.1 innings last year and had a 2.95 ERA during his first season as a full-time starter in 2024. Extending the qualifying offer will net the Padres a compensatory draft pick, assuming he doesn't re-sign with the team.
Pitching Stats
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2025 MLB Game Log
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
77
Last 10 Games
68
Last 5 Games
52
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+
What part of the game does Michael King 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 2023
-7%
BAA vs LHP
2025
-13%
BAA vs RHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023vs Left | .215 | 188 | 71 | 143 | 19 |
| Since 2023vs Right | .230 | 216 | 50 | 151 | 20 |
| 2025vs Left | .237 | 46 | 16 | 37 | 6 |
| 2025vs Right | .207 | 30 | 10 | 25 | 6 |
| 2024vs Left | .223 | 94 | 38 | 77 | 9 |
| 2024vs Right | .218 | 107 | 25 | 67 | 8 |
| 2023vs Left | .179 | 48 | 17 | 29 | 4 |
| 2023vs Right | .259 | 79 | 15 | 59 | 6 |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
-5%
ERA on Road
2025
-54%
ERA at Home
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023Home | 3.07 | 1.18 | 173.0 | 12.0 | 3.1 |
| Since 2023Away | 2.92 | 1.18 | 178.2 | 8.7 | 3.1 |
| 2025Home | 2.44 | 1.02 | 48.0 | 11.1 | 3.0 |
| 2025Away | 5.33 | 1.54 | 25.1 | 6.0 | 3.6 |
| 2024Home | 3.32 | 1.22 | 78.2 | 12.5 | 3.3 |
| 2024Away | 2.65 | 1.17 | 95.0 | 8.7 | 3.2 |
| 2023Home | 3.30 | 1.27 | 46.1 | 12.2 | 2.9 |
| 2023Away | 2.31 | 1.05 | 58.1 | 9.9 | 2.6 |
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.
* 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
2.92K/9
9.3BB/9
3.2HR/9
1.5Fastball
95.5 mphERA
3.44WHIP
1.20BABIP
.277GB/FB
0.92Left On Base
80.1%Exit Velocity
81.5 mphBarrels/BBE
6.8%Spin Rate
2318 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
24.1%Swinging Strike
10.8%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
2025
2024
2023
2021
2020
2019
King came into the 2024 season as an uncertainty but finished it as a star. King was part of the Juan Soto deal and had been a valuable Swiss Army knife for the Yankees as they had used him as an opener, a closer and in all situations between as he worked 104.2 innings over 49 games. The question about King was how he would hold up as a full-time starting pitcher, something he had never done at the big league level. In fact, the last time King started even 10 games in any season was in Double-A in the 2018 season. King silenced the critics, and then some, as he finished the season as the 16th-best starting pitcher in the final fantasy rankings and did well in the postseason, too. King adjusted his repertoire by dialing back on the sweeper, adding a slider and ramping up his changeup. His 19 percent K-BB percentage and .221 opponents batting average were in the top 20 for all starters with at least 150 innings of work. The big question now is how will King's body bounced back after a season in which his overall pitch count jumped 79 percent from the previous season.
More Fantasy News
Receives qualifying offer
The Padres extended a one-year, $22.05 million qualifying offer to King on Thursday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
Analysis
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Bound for free agency
King declined his side of a $15 million mutual option for the 2026 season Sunday, making him an unrestricted free agent, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Analysis
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Left out of wild-card rotation
Padres manager Mike Shildt said Monday that King will be available out of the bullpen for the National League Wild Card Series against the Cubs, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Analysis
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Abbreviated outing in no-decision
King did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks, allowing one hit and two walks with three strikeouts over 2.2 scoreless innings.
Analysis
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Walks four in win
King (5-3) allowed four hits and four walks over five-plus scoreless innings Sunday, striking out four and earning a win over the White Sox.
Analysis
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Yankees showing interest
Jim Bowden of The Athletic believes that a reunion between the Yankees and King is a "real possibility" this winter.
Analysis
It's not surprising to see the 30-year-old right-hander having a ton of suitors after posting a 3.10 ERA while working as a full-time starter for the Padres the past two seasons. The Cubs are also expected to be interested in signing King, who debuted with the Yankees in 2019 and operated as a swingman before being shipped to the Padres in the Juan Soto trade.
It's not surprising to see the 30-year-old right-hander having a ton of suitors after posting a 3.10 ERA while working as a full-time starter for the Padres the past two seasons. The Cubs are also expected to be interested in signing King, who debuted with the Yankees in 2019 and operated as a swingman before being shipped to the Padres in the Juan Soto trade.