Players · K · Pitcher · 2026
Craig Kimbrel
- Age
- 38
- B/T
- R/R
- Height
- 6' 0"
- Weight
- 215 lb
- Number
- #26
- Born
- May 28, 1988 in Huntsville, AL, United States
- MLB debut
- May 7, 2010
- Drafted
- 2007, round 33
- College
- Wallace State CC
- High school
- Robert E. Lee
- dbWAR
- 9.8 14 season(s)
- IP
- 46.0
- ERA
- 4.50
- FIP
- 4.12
- K/9
- 7.8
- FIP−
- 99 100 = avg
Craig Kimbrel is a relief pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2026 he struck out 40 batters over 46.0 innings across 46 appearances, going 1-5. His ERA of 4.50 is 7.7% higher than the league average of 4.18 — 12th of 16 on his team, and 342nd of 538 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 4.12 FIP suggests he pitched better than his ERA shows. He missed bats on 23.1% of swings (11.1% of every pitch he threw), walked 11.2% of the batters he faced and struck out 20.4%. His 0.3 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.
League context
Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.
WAR by season
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | TB/NYM/KC | 46 | 0 | 46.0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 40 | 23 | 40 | 22 | 4.50 | 4.12 | 1.35 | 7.8 | 4.3 | 108 | 99 | 0.3 | |
| 2025 | HOU/ATL | 14 | 0 | 12.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 17 | 7 | 2.25 | 4.22 | 1.42 | 12.8 | 5.3 | 54 | 101 | 0.1 | |
| 2024 | BAL | 57 | 0 | 52.1 | 7 | 5 | 23 | 40 | 31 | 73 | 31 | 5.33 | 4.18 | 1.36 | 12.6 | 5.3 | 131 | 102 | 0.2 | |
| 2023 | PHI | 71 | 0 | 69.0 | 8 | 6 | 23 | 44 | 25 | 94 | 28 | 3.26 | 3.81 | 1.04 | 12.3 | 3.7 | 75 | 88 | 0.8 | |
| 2022 | LAD | 63 | 0 | 60.0 | 6 | 7 | 22 | 51 | 25 | 72 | 28 | 3.75 | 3.23 | 1.32 | 10.8 | 4.2 | 94 | 81 | 0.9 | |
| 2021 | CHC/CWS | 63 | 0 | 59.2 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 31 | 15 | 100 | 23 | 2.26 | 2.43 | 0.91 | 15.1 | 3.5 | 53 | 57 | 1.7 | |
| 2020 | CHC | 18 | 0 | 15.1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 28 | 12 | 5.28 | 3.97 | 1.43 | 16.4 | 7.0 | 119 | 89 | 0.2 | |
| 2019 | CHC | 23 | 0 | 20.2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 21 | 15 | 30 | 12 | 6.53 | 8.00 | 1.60 | 13.1 | 5.2 | 145 | 178 | -0.7 | |
| 2018 | BOS | 63 | 0 | 62.1 | 5 | 1 | 42 | 31 | 19 | 96 | 31 | 2.74 | 3.13 | 0.99 | 13.9 | 4.5 | 66 | 75 | 1.1 | |
| 2017 | BOS | 67 | 0 | 69.0 | 5 | 0 | 35 | 33 | 11 | 126 | 14 | 1.43 | 1.42 | 0.68 | 16.4 | 1.8 | 33 | 33 | 2.7 | |
| 2016 | BOS | 57 | 0 | 53.0 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 28 | 20 | 83 | 30 | 3.40 | 2.92 | 1.09 | 14.1 | 5.1 | 81 | 70 | 1.2 | |
| 2015 | SD | 61 | 0 | 59.1 | 4 | 2 | 39 | 40 | 17 | 87 | 22 | 2.58 | 2.68 | 1.04 | 13.2 | 3.3 | 65 | 68 | 1.2 |
Batting
Standard and advanced, by season.
Platoon splits
How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.
| Split | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs LHB | 102 | 85 | 23 | 3 | 14 | 18 | .271 | .376 | .471 | .370 | 17.6% |
| vs RHB | 94 | 83 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 22 | .205 | .287 | .277 | .258 | 23.4% |
Pitch sequencing
What Craig Kimbrel throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Craig Kimbrel throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, how often it misses, and what hitters do with it.
| Four-Seam Fastball | 509 | 93.6 | 2,275 | 47.0% | 23.6% | 115 | .209 | .682 | |
| Sweeper | 106 | 85.6 | 2,567 | 39.6% | 33.3% | 28 | .286 | .690 | |
| Knuckle Curve | 76 | 84.2 | 2,585 | 34.2% | 7.4% | 12 | — | — | |
| Sinker | 61 | 93.8 | 2,090 | 47.5% | 10.7% | 9 | — | — | |
| Changeup | 24 | 88.5 | 1,629 | 25.0% | 42.9% | 6 | — | — |
Head to head
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Similar players
Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.
wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.