Pitcher · 2026
Joel Kuhnel
- Age
- 31
- B/T
- R/R
- Height
- 6' 5"
- Weight
- 290 lb
- Number
- #59
- Born
- February 19, 1995 in Goldsboro, NC, USA
- MLB debut
- August 16, 2019
- Drafted
- 2016, round 11
- College
- Texas-Arlington
- High school
- Sunrise Mountain
- dbWAR
- -.2 2 season(s)
- IP
- 35.1
- ERA
- 4.84
- FIP
- 5.41
- K/9
- 5.6
- FIP−
- 129 100 = avg
Joel Kuhnel is a relief pitcher for the Athletics. In 2026 he struck out 22 batters over 35.1 innings across 35 appearances, going 1-3. His ERA of 4.84 was 15.9% higher than the league average of 4.18 — 9th of 16 on his team, and 334th of 467 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 5.41 FIP suggests that his ERA had some help behind him. He missed bats on 22.6% of swings (10.6% of every pitch he threw), walked 7.6% of the batters he faced and struck out 14.0%. 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.
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 | 78 | 68 | 24 | 5 | 8 | 9 | .353 | .410 | .632 | .436 | 11.5% |
| vs RHB | 79 | 71 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 13 | .225 | .304 | .310 | .283 | 16.5% |
Pitch sequencing
What Joel Kuhnel throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Joel Kuhnel throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, and how often it misses in 2026.
| Sinker | 291 | 95.1 | 2,265 | 39.2% | 13.7% | |
| Cutter | 178 | 90.5 | 2,483 | 44.9% | 36.1% | |
| Changeup | 38 | 90.1 | 1,426 | 28.9% | 23.8% | |
| Four-Seam Fastball | 31 | 95.1 | 2,276 | 32.3% | 30.8% | |
| Curveball | 18 | 81.9 | 2,420 | 66.7% | 36.4% |
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35 | 0 | 35.1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 40 | 19 | 22 | 12 | 4.84 | 5.41 | 1.47 | 5.6 | 3.1 | 116 | 129 | -0.3 | |
| 2024 | 6 | 0 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4.50 | 3.77 | 0.80 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 110 | 92 | 0.1 |
Head to head
Put Joel Kuhnel beside up to three others.
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.