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
Loading Pitching Stats...
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Minor League Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Pitching Game Log...
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
Loading Advanced Pitching Stats...
Defensive Stats
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Stats Vs Today's Lineup
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Yusei Kikuchi See More
James Anderson ranks the top 300 players for 2025 fantasy baseball leagues, in which Brewers' phenom Jackson Chourio is pushing towards the first round!
The MLB Playoffs get underway Tuesday with the Wild Card round and Erik Halterman breaks down the playoff field to identify his best World Series bets and pennant picks.
Todd Zola provides some player rankings ahead of the playoffs, as Mookie Betts and the Dodgers take MLB's best record into the postseason.
Todd Zola examines strategies for the Underdog postseason contest, and notes that while Shoehi Ohtani may be the best player, you may not want to take him first overall.
Tarik Skubal leads the final pitcher rankings of the season, but like many starters in the final week, his second start is up in the air.
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
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
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
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
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
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
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
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
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
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Latest Fantasy Rumors
Emphasizing slider
Kikuchi has been utilizing his slider as his secondary pitch during the second half of the season while relying less on the curveball, per Eno Sarris of The Athletic.
ANALYSIS
The curveball's usage rate for the season still sits at 18.5 percent, which is on par with 2023, but he's thrown it only a handful of times in each start since being acquired by the Astros. Kikuchi has also thrown his slider around 40 percent or more of late as he's primarily shifted to a two-pitch mix, especially versus left-handed hitters. The results speak for themselves thus far, as Kikuchi has a 3.07 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 53:10 K:BB across 41 frames in seven starts since the trade.
The curveball's usage rate for the season still sits at 18.5 percent, which is on par with 2023, but he's thrown it only a handful of times in each start since being acquired by the Astros. Kikuchi has also thrown his slider around 40 percent or more of late as he's primarily shifted to a two-pitch mix, especially versus left-handed hitters. The results speak for themselves thus far, as Kikuchi has a 3.07 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 53:10 K:BB across 41 frames in seven starts since the trade.