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
#67
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $3.15 million contract with the Padres in January of 2024.
Could start in Game 3
PSan Diego Padres
October 4, 2024
Manager Mike Shildt said Friday that Yu Darvish will start in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers and King will come in "soon thereafter," Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.
ANALYSIS
The Padres will roll with Dylan Cease and Darvish for Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS before likely turning to King for Game 3. King started in Game 1 of the wild-card series against Atlanta on Tuesday, and he was credited for the win after pitching seven scoreless innings while allowing five hits and striking out 12 batters. The Padres' rotation suffered a setback with Joe Musgrove being ruled out for the NLDS due to a UCL injury in his right elbow, which will require Tommy John surgery during the offseason.
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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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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
93
Last 10 Games
90
Last 5 Games
88
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
 
 
-10%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-2%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-31%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-11%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .205 643 166 59 118 20 2 15
Since 2022vs Right .229 713 228 52 149 27 3 15
2024vs Left .223 390 94 38 77 14 1 9
2024vs Right .218 336 107 25 67 13 1 8
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
 
 
-27%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-20%
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 3.26 1.23 151.2 12 11 4 12.3 3.3 0.9
Since 2022Away 2.38 1.08 177.2 11 9 3 9.4 2.8 0.8
2024Home 3.32 1.22 78.2 4 5 0 12.5 3.3 0.9
2024Away 2.65 1.17 95.0 9 4 0 8.7 3.2 0.9
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
More Splits View More Split Stats
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
3.19
 
K/9
10.4
 
BB/9
3.3
 
HR/9
0.9
 
Fastball
93.3 mph
 
ERA
2.95
 
WHIP
1.19
 
BABIP
.305
 
GB/FB
1.25
 
Left On Base
74.2%
 
Exit Velocity
79.6 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
4.0%
 
Spin Rate
2268 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
18.5%
 
Swinging Strike
12.4%
 
Prospect Rankings History
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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
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44 days ago
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44 days ago
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44 days ago
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45 days ago
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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
Getting nod in Game 1
PSan Diego Padres
September 30, 2024
King will start Game 1 of the wild-card series against Atlanta on Tuesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Picks up 13th win
PSan Diego Padres
September 25, 2024
King (13-9) got the win over the Dodgers on Tuesday, allowing one run (zero earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out three over five innings.
ANALYSIS
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Seven strong innings against Astros
PSan Diego Padres
September 18, 2024
King did not factor into the decision in Tuesday's loss to the Astros, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven in seven innings.
ANALYSIS
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Hit with tough loss
PSan Diego Padres
September 12, 2024
King (12-9) took the loss against Seattle on Wednesday, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks over five innings while striking out six.
ANALYSIS
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Defeats Giants
PSan Diego Padres
September 6, 2024
King (12-8) allowed one run on six hits and a walk while striking out eight over six innings to earn the win over the Giants on Friday.
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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