Sam Hentges

Sam Hentges

28-Year-Old PitcherRP
Cleveland Guardians
Out
Injury Shoulder
Est. Return 2/1/2026
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Hentges missed the first five weeks of the 2023 campaign due to shoulder inflammation. The southpaw racked up seven holds over his first 12 appearances, but saw his ratios balloon with a rough July (14.63 ERA, 2.50 WHIP over eight innings). The 27-year-old had one of the worst hard-hit rates in baseball at 49 percent, but he made up for it with an above-average strikeout rate while inducing plenty of ground balls at a near 60 percent clip. Similar to the 2022 season, Hentges finished the season in dominant fashion, allowing just one earned run over his final 27 appearances while striking out 31 over 25.2 innings. He'll enter 2024 as the Guardians top left-handed reliever. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a one-year, $1.16 million contract with the Guardians in January of 2024.
Slated for shoulder surgery
PCleveland Guardians
Shoulder
September 10, 2024
Hentges will undergo surgery on Sept. 18 to repair the capsule and labrum in his left shoulder, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Hentges is expected to need 12-to-14 months to recover, so it's unlikely he'll be ready to pitch in a game until 2026. The lefty has been excellent since being moved to a full-time relief role in 2022, posting a 2.93 ERA and 155:42 K:BB over 138 innings. Hentges is making $1.16 million in 2024 and will be eligible for salary arbitration for a second time this offseason.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
14
Last 10 Games
16
Last 5 Games
16
How many pitches does Sam Hentges 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 Sam Hentges 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
 
 
-23%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-11%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-33%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .211 210 64 9 41 7 1 3
Since 2022vs Right .225 348 91 33 71 14 0 5
2024vs Left .250 30 11 1 7 3 0 1
2024vs Right .193 61 16 4 11 3 0 2
2023vs Left .280 81 19 5 21 1 1 2
2023vs Right .248 141 37 13 32 7 0 0
2022vs Left .143 99 34 3 13 3 0 0
2022vs Right .215 146 38 16 28 4 0 3
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-26%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-8%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-43%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-10%
ERA at Home
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 2.53 1.02 74.2 4 1 1 10.6 2.7 0.6
Since 2022Away 3.41 1.23 63.1 2 3 0 9.5 2.8 0.4
2024Home 2.92 0.97 12.1 0 0 0 6.6 2.9 0.7
2024Away 3.18 0.97 11.1 0 0 0 14.3 0.8 1.6
2023Home 2.73 1.28 29.2 2 0 0 10.9 2.7 0.3
2023Away 4.76 1.46 22.2 1 2 0 7.9 3.6 0.4
2022Home 2.20 0.80 32.2 2 1 1 11.8 2.5 0.8
2022Away 2.45 1.16 29.1 1 1 0 8.9 3.1 0.0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Sam Hentges 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.
  • 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
5.40
 
K/9
10.3
 
BB/9
1.9
 
HR/9
1.1
 
Fastball
95.0 mph
 
ERA
3.04
 
WHIP
0.97
 
BABIP
.274
 
GB/FB
1.56
 
Left On Base
79.8%
 
Exit Velocity
82.9 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.7%
 
Spin Rate
2278 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
22.0%
 
Swinging Strike
13.1%
 
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 Sam Hentges See More
Mound Musings: A Look at Pitching in the AL Central
250 days ago
Brad Johnson looks at the American League Central, and in Cleveland, he's been won over by Shane Bieber, whose once rather-average stuff has improved significantly.
The Z Files: Projecting Pitcher's BABIP
297 days ago
Todd Zola considers a new approach to regressing a pitcher's BABIP, which suggests better days should be ahead for Hunter Greene.
Mound Musings: A Look at Pitching in the AL Central
March 2, 2023
Brad Johnson breaks down the pitching situations in the AL Central, starting in Chicago where Johnson expects Lucas Giolito to have a bounce-back season.
The Z Files: OK, I'm SOLD
The Z Files: OK, I'm SOLD
December 2, 2022
December 2, 2022
Todd Zola reconsiders his stance against adding holds as a roto category, and takes a look at the impact it would have on relievers like Devin Williams.
The Z Files: NFBC Holdem Rankings and Strategies
October 10, 2022
Todd Zola shares his gameplan and his rankings for NFBC Postseason Holdem contests.
2023 Fantasy Outlook
After struggling during his rookie campaign, Hentges bounced back in a big way. The southpaw became a reliable bullpen arm for Cleveland, adding velocity on all four of his pitches while throwing more sinkers (26% pitch usage compared to 9% in 2021). This led to a 61.5% groundball rate that was one of the highest among relievers. Hentges' strikeout rate (29.4%) also spiked by eight percentage points, while also improving his walk and home run rates. He was especially dominant in the second half, producing a 36:5 K:BB ratio, 0.30 ERA and 0.57 WHIP over his final 29.2 innings. He didn't rack up a ton of holds (eight), but more can be expected in 2023 as Hentges is very clearly the top lefty in the Guardians bullpen. Don't completely dismiss the possibility of a return to the starting rotation, though, as the lefty was brought up as a starter in the minors.
More Fantasy News
Moved to 60-day IL
PCleveland Guardians
Shoulder
August 19, 2024
The Guardians transferred Hentges (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.
ANALYSIS
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Pulled off rehab assignment
PCleveland Guardians
Shoulder
August 9, 2024
Hentges has been pulled off his rehab assignment due to renewed soreness in his left shoulder, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
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Starting rehab assignment
PCleveland Guardians
Shoulder
August 5, 2024
Hentges (shoulder) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.
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On IL with shoulder swelling
PCleveland Guardians
Shoulder
July 12, 2024
The Guardians placed Hentges on the 15-day injured list Friday due to left shoulder inflammation, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
ANALYSIS
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Back from paternity leave
PCleveland Guardians
May 17, 2024
The Guardians activated Hentges from the paternity list Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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