Yusei Kikuchi
33-Year-Old
Free Agent
2024 Stats
W-L
9-10
ERA
4.05
WHIP
1.20
K
206
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Kikuchi enjoyed a career year in 2023 and finished with a 3.86 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 181:48 K:BB over 167.2 innings. He nearly cut his walk rate in half to 6.9 percent and had a solid 25.9 percent strikeout rate. A 3.77 xFIP also indicates his results were mostly earned, though a 42.4 percent hard-hit rate and 1.45 HR/9 were both bottom-10 among qualified starters despite being significant improvements from his 2022 marks. The left-hander, who will turn 33 years old in June, continues to average about 95 mph with his fastball and still generates plenty of whiffs, but those swing-and-misses have never really translated to equitable run prevention. Kikuchi's 2023 numbers certainly weren't a fluke, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be able to replicate them. A regression in 2024 shouldn't be the expectation but certainly wouldn't be surprising given the 5.02 ERA across his first four MLB seasons after coming over from Japan. Read Past Outlooks
In line for Game 3 start
Kikuchi is slated to start Thursday in Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series against the Tigers, assuming he's not needed in relief in Game 2 on Wednesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Kikuchi has been told to be ready in relief for Game 2 with the Astros having all hands on deck as they try to avoid elimination. If Houston wins and doesn't have to use Kikuchi on Wednesday, he'll take the ball Thursday. The left-hander was outstanding after being acquired by the Astros at the trade deadline, putting up a 2.70 ERA and 76:14 K:BB over 60 innings.
Kikuchi has been told to be ready in relief for Game 2 with the Astros having all hands on deck as they try to avoid elimination. If Houston wins and doesn't have to use Kikuchi on Wednesday, he'll take the ball Thursday. The left-hander was outstanding after being acquired by the Astros at the trade deadline, putting up a 2.70 ERA and 76:14 K:BB over 60 innings.
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
91
Last 10 Games
97
Last 5 Games
97
How many pitches does Yusei Kikuchi 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 Yusei Kikuchi 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
-16%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-7%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2022vs Left | .216 | 104 | 25 | 76 | 13 | |||
| Since 2022vs Right | .257 | 407 | 125 | 349 | 62 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .230 | 40 | 8 | 31 | 5 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .248 | 166 | 36 | 136 | 20 | |||
| 2023vs Left | .214 | 39 | 8 | 28 | 6 | |||
| 2023vs Right | .266 | 142 | 40 | 137 | 21 | |||
| 2022vs Left | .198 | 25 | 9 | 17 | 2 | |||
| 2022vs Right | .256 | 99 | 49 | 76 | 21 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-8%
ERA at Home
2024
-9%
ERA at Home
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2022Home | 4.08 | 1.16 | 238.1 | 10.7 | 2.7 | ||||
| Since 2022Away | 4.42 | 1.45 | 205.2 | 9.9 | 3.5 | ||||
| 2024Home | 3.89 | 1.13 | 104.0 | 10.8 | 1.8 | ||||
| 2024Away | 4.27 | 1.30 | 71.2 | 10.2 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2023Home | 3.97 | 1.18 | 79.1 | 9.9 | 3.1 | ||||
| 2023Away | 3.77 | 1.35 | 88.1 | 9.6 | 2.1 | ||||
| 2022Home | 4.58 | 1.16 | 55.0 | 11.8 | 3.8 | ||||
| 2022Away | 5.91 | 1.91 | 45.2 | 10.2 | 6.9 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Yusei Kikuchi 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
4.68K/9
10.6BB/9
2.3HR/9
1.3Fastball
95.6 mphERA
4.05WHIP
1.20BABIP
.329GB/FB
1.24Left On Base
71.6%Exit Velocity
82.7 mphBarrels/BBE
5.4%Spin Rate
2285 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
25.8%Swinging Strike
13.1%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
2016
Kikuchi is at a career crossroads as his non COVID-shortened seasons look terrible by most measures. His ERA and ERA estimators have been messy in each of those seasons, and then he further compounded problems in 2022 with a noticeable spike in his walk rate with a healthy dose of homers. Just six pitchers have ever thrown at least 100 innings with walk rates of at least 12% while allowing 2 homers per nine innings as Kikuchi did and those names include Oliver Perez, Andy Benes, and Derek Holland and each of their ERAs were over a full run higher than what Kikuchi somehow pulled off last season at 5.19. The strikeout rate was am impressive as he ran away from his cutter and threw more fastballs, but only his changeup was tough to hit for the league. It is perplexing to see someone with such poor overall numbers to have four pitches with Whiff rates above 25%, but that is what Kikuchi pulled off last season. Perhaps there is a brighter future for him in relief where he can pump up the velocity in shorter stints because he has had issues sustaining that over the course of a season. Funny data point: did you know Kikuchi's four-seam fastball generated more swings and misses in 2022 than four-seamers thrown by Justin Verlander and Alek Manoah? Now you do.
More Fantasy News
Tough-luck loser in quality start
Kikuchi (9-10) took the loss Wednesday against Seattle, allowing two unearned on four hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings.
ANALYSIS
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Fans nine in quality start
Kikuchi did not factor into the decision in a win over the Angels on Thursday, allowing one run on five hits and one walk over six innings while striking out nine.
ANALYSIS
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Remains unbeaten with Houston
Kikuchi (9-9) picked up the win Friday, giving up three runs on three hits and two walks over seven innings in a 5-3 victory over the Angels. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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Carried to eighth win by offense
Kikuchi (8-9) picked up the win Saturday, giving up four runs on seven hits over six innings in an 11-5 victory over the Diamondbacks. He struck out six without walking a batter.
ANALYSIS
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Racks up 12 punchouts in victory
Kikuchi (7-9) earned the win over Kansas City on Saturday, allowing one run on five hits and no walks while striking out 12 batters over seven innings.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Strong market developing
Kikuchi has a big market in the early stages of the offseason, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
ANALYSIS
Kikuchi has been maddeningly inconsistent in his career, but he finished superbly with the Astros in 2024 after landing in Houston at the trade deadline. He posted a 2.70 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 76:14 K:BB over 60 innings across 10 regular-season starts for Houston. Kikuchi also doesn't have a qualifying offer attached to him, which greatly helps his market. The Astros would like to re-sign the lefty but will face stiff competition.
Kikuchi has been maddeningly inconsistent in his career, but he finished superbly with the Astros in 2024 after landing in Houston at the trade deadline. He posted a 2.70 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 76:14 K:BB over 60 innings across 10 regular-season starts for Houston. Kikuchi also doesn't have a qualifying offer attached to him, which greatly helps his market. The Astros would like to re-sign the lefty but will face stiff competition.