Paul Blackburn

Paul Blackburn

30-Year-Old PitcherSP
New York Mets
Out
Injury Back
Est. Return 3/1/2025
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Fingernail and blister issues delayed Blackburn's debut until May 29, but he still ended up passing the century mark in innings for the second straight season. Oakland's lone representative in the 2022 All-Star Game, Blackburn failed to replicate those results in 2023. His WHIP shot up from 1.26 to 1.54 as opponents hit 25 points higher against the right-hander. Blackburn lifted his strikeout rate over 20 percent for the first time in his career, but the jump in strikeouts came with a jump in walks, making it a wash. He's going to be pitching again for one of the worst teams in baseball, and the skills haven't been good enough to compensate throughout most of his career. Now entering his age-30 season, Blackburn could potentially benefit from some tweaks to his pitch mix, though that's merely theoretical. He has to be considered a health and performance risk on draft day. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#428
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $3.45 million contract with the Athletics in January of 2024. Traded to the Mets in July of 2024.
Out up to five months post-surgery
PNew York Mets
Back
October 22, 2024
Blackburn underwent surgery Oct. 11 to repair a cerebrospinal fluid leak, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Per the Mets, it's a procedure which typically carries a return to play timeline of 4-5 months. That would seemingly give Blackburn a shot to be ready in time for Opening Day, provided there are no setbacks along the way. If healthy, Blackburn should open the 2025 season in the Mets' rotation. He held a 4.66 ERA and 59:21 K:BB over 75.1 innings covering 14 starts between the Athletics and Mets in 2024.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
87
Last 10 Games
85
Last 5 Games
82
How many pitches does Paul Blackburn 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 Paul Blackburn 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
 
 
-6%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-28%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-2%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-4%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .260 617 132 46 146 40 2 15
Since 2022vs Right .276 630 120 48 157 27 4 23
2024vs Left .221 159 33 9 33 7 0 4
2024vs Right .305 157 26 12 43 7 1 8
2023vs Left .289 217 50 21 55 12 2 4
2023vs Right .283 247 54 22 62 10 1 7
2022vs Left .260 241 49 16 58 21 0 7
2022vs Right .250 226 40 14 52 10 2 8
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-13%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-57%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-33%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-74%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 4.78 1.35 128.0 5 9 0 8.0 3.0 1.1
Since 2022Away 4.16 1.38 162.1 11 8 0 7.7 2.8 1.3
2024Home 2.75 1.11 36.0 2 1 0 6.3 3.0 0.5
2024Away 6.41 1.45 39.1 3 3 0 7.8 2.1 2.3
2023Home 3.57 1.32 53.0 2 3 0 9.2 3.6 0.7
2023Away 5.33 1.78 50.2 2 4 0 8.9 3.9 1.2
2022Home 8.31 1.62 39.0 1 5 0 8.1 2.3 2.1
2022Away 2.12 1.06 72.1 6 1 0 6.7 2.5 0.7
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Paul Blackburn 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
2.81
 
K/9
7.0
 
BB/9
2.5
 
HR/9
1.4
 
Fastball
91.7 mph
 
ERA
4.66
 
WHIP
1.29
 
BABIP
.294
 
GB/FB
1.71
 
Left On Base
69.8%
 
Exit Velocity
80.9 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.1%
 
Spin Rate
2241 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
24.2%
 
Swinging Strike
10.2%
 
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
2019
2018
2017
Blackburn appeared to be finally turning a corner in his career until fate literally gave him a middle finger. Blackburn was 6-2 with a 2.26 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP through his first 13 starts of 2022 until he began experiencing some middle finger discomfort. He attempted to pitch through it making 8 more starts, but went 1-4 with a 7.94 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP in those final outings before shutting it down for the season and requiring surgery to repair the tear of his flexor tendon sheath in his right middle finger. Blackburn isn't blessed with much velocity or spin, but throws six different pitch types to keep hitters off balance and guessing which of the sextet is coming next. Oakland will give him all the volume he can handle as he is in the first season of arbitration and turns 30 during the season. The volume is what could get him to double-digit wins as the run support is unlikely to do so. He is worthy of a late round selection to see if the repertoire adjustments he made in 2022 can stick and help him pick up where he left off in mid-June.
A strained right forearm kept Blackburn out until June, and he made just six starts for Oakland before elbow tendinitis shut him down in early July. His ERA came in nearly four runs higher than in his 10-start rookie campaign, sitting at an ugly 7.16, but the underlying numbers told a different story. His strikeout rate nearly doubled, though it still sat at an unimpressive 16.0%, and he walked just 5.0% of opposing batters. His control and groundball profile led to a very respectable 3.59 FIP, with an extremely low 47.1% strand rate appearing to be the primary culprit for his inflated ERA. Blackburn's sample size was too small to conclusively say that he's really improved, however, and he enters the 2018 season with injury questions and a low ceiling due to his lack of whiffs. He'll be battling for a back-end rotation spot at best on a team that's shown a willingness to use bullpen days rather than trust shaky starters.
An extreme groundball pitcher in Oakland is almost always going to be worth a second look in deep settings. The problem with Blackburn is that he lacks the swing-and-miss stuff to be a real difference maker. As a 24-year-old last season, Blackburn posted a 3.22 ERA and 1.26 WHIP over 58.2 innings despite just a 9.2 strikeout percentage (3.4 K/9). He did a good job of limiting the free passes (2.5 K/9) and keeping the ball on the ground (56.3 percent groundball rate), but even so, the estimators point to Blackburn being at least a run worse than his surface numbers would suggest (4.38 FIP, 4.76 xFIP, 5.15 SIERA). Blackburn missed the end of the season with a bone bruise in his wrist and hasn't thrown more than 142 combined innings in any season. Making matters worse, he's not guaranteed a starting job out of camp, even on a team like the A's.
After working his way up to the Cubs' Double-A affiliate, Blackburn was traded to the Mariners as part of the package for Mike Montgomery. The big knock on Blackburn is his inability to miss bats, as he registered just a 6.2 K/9 in 2016 (which is identical to his career mark). However, he's made up for the lack of swing and miss to a large extent by posting consistently low walk rates and keeping the ball on the ground. At the end of the 2016 season, the Mariners traded Blackburn to the A's for Danny Valencia and subsequently added him to their 40-man roster, protecting him from the Rule 5 draft. Although the Bay Area native has only seen Double-A action so far, his control may be earn him a call up to the big leagues if the A's notorious starting pitching struggles continue.
More Fantasy News
Moved to 60-day IL
PNew York Mets
Back
October 5, 2024
Blackburn (back) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Saturday, per MLB's transaction log.
ANALYSIS
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Won't return this season
PNew York Mets
Back
October 2, 2024
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday that Blackburn (back) won't pitch at any point during the postseason, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
ANALYSIS
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Hopes to return next week
PNew York Mets
Back
September 18, 2024
Blackburn (back) will play catch Wednesday and hopes to return from the 15-day injured list as soon as the middle of next week, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Diagnosed with spinal fluid leak
PNew York Mets
Back
September 14, 2024
President of baseball operations David Stearns said Saturday that Blackburn has a spinal fluid leak in his back, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Out through this weekend
PNew York Mets
Back
September 10, 2024
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday that Blackburn (hand/back) isn't feeling much better and won't be activated from the 15-day injured list to pitch against the Phillies this weekend, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Historic streak ends
POakland Athletics
April 18, 2024
Blackburn's scoreless innings streak to begin the season ended at 22.1 frames Wednesday against the Cardinals, which is a record for the franchise while in Oakland, according to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com.
ANALYSIS
It's the second longest streak to begin the season in franchise history overall, trailing only Harry Krause's 23-inning run in 1910 for the Philadelphia A's. Blackburn was unimpressive last season with a 4.43 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over 103.2 innings, but he's been electric through four starts in 2024 with just three runs allowed and a 1.00 WHIP across 25 innings. The 30-year-old already has two wins, bringing him halfway to his total from last year.
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