Players · K · Pitcher · 2026
Stephen Kolek
- Age
- 29
- B/T
- R/R
- Height
- 6' 3"
- Weight
- 210 lb
- Number
- #32
- Born
- April 18, 1997 in Houston, TX, United States
- MLB debut
- March 21, 2024
- Drafted
- 2018, round 11
- College
- Texas A&M
- High school
- Shepherd
- dbWAR
- 2.8 3 season(s)
- IP
- 54.0
- ERA
- 4.50
- FIP
- 4.55
- K/9
- 5.7
- FIP−
- 109 100 = avg
Stephen Kolek is a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. In 2026 he struck out 34 batters over 54.0 innings across 10 appearances, 10 of them starts, going 4-3. His ERA of 4.50 is 7.7% higher than the league average of 4.18 — 12th of 19 on his team, and 343rd of 538 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 4.55 FIP suggests the ERA was no fluke. He missed bats on 19.8% of swings (9.6% of every pitch he threw), walked 5.4% of the batters he faced and struck out 15.2%. His 0.5 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.
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 | 126 | 121 | 33 | 4 | 5 | 24 | .273 | .302 | .455 | .328 | 19.0% |
| vs RHB | 98 | 89 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 10 | .247 | .316 | .438 | .332 | 10.2% |
Pitch sequencing
What Stephen Kolek throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Stephen Kolek throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, how often it misses, and what hitters do with it.
| Four-Seam Fastball | 237 | 94.2 | 2,241 | 47.7% | 18.6% | 41 | .244 | .686 | |
| Sinker | 182 | 93.7 | 2,211 | 36.3% | 5.6% | 59 | .322 | .900 | |
| Slider | 137 | 85.6 | 2,508 | 48.2% | 42.9% | 42 | .167 | .556 | |
| Cutter | 103 | 90.3 | 2,418 | 53.4% | 20.8% | 21 | .190 | .810 | |
| Changeup | 100 | 87.1 | 1,489 | 34.0% | 16.0% | 30 | .300 | .644 | |
| Sweeper | 78 | 79.9 | 2,571 | 33.3% | 9.1% | 18 | .333 | .980 |
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.