Craig Kimbrel
Kimbrel's peak was nothing short of historic — his 2012 season produced a 1.01 ERA with an absurd 397 ERA+, making him nearly four times better than the average pitcher. That wasn't a fluke either. His career 227 ERA+ ranks among the best for any reliever with substantial innings, and his 1.6 strikeouts per inning rate has terrorized hitters for over a decade.
The concern now is sustainability at 38. Kimbrel's stuff remains elite, but the margin for error shrinks with age for closers who live in the strike zone's dangerous areas. His three Rookie of the Year awards speak to immediate impact wherever he's landed, but nine All-Star selections tell the story of sustained excellence.
The question isn't whether Kimbrel belongs among the game's great closers — the numbers settled that years ago. It's whether that signature pre-pitch pose will still be freezing hitters when he's pushing 40.
| Date | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | HR | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Jul 12 | 1.667 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Jul 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Jul 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Jul 4 | 1.333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | BS |
| Jun 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Jun 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Jun 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Jun 25 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Jun 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Career · Hitting
16 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | — | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2011 | — | 79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2012 | — | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2013 | — | 68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2014 | — | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | — | 61 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | — | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2017 | — | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2018 | — | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2019 | — | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2020 | — | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2021 | — | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2021 | — | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2021 | — | 63 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2022 | — | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2024 | — | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 829 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
23 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | — | 21 | 20.2 | 4 | 0 | 0.44 | — | 40 | 1.21 |
| 2011 | — | 79 | 77.0 | 4 | 3 | 2.10 | — | 127 | 1.04 |
| 2012 | — | 63 | 62.2 | 3 | 1 | 1.01 | — | 116 | 0.65 |
| 2013 | — | 68 | 67.0 | 4 | 3 | 1.21 | — | 98 | 0.88 |
| 2014 | — | 63 | 61.2 | 0 | 3 | 1.61 | — | 95 | 0.91 |
| 2015 | — | 61 | 59.1 | 4 | 2 | 2.58 | — | 87 | 1.04 |
| 2016 | — | 57 | 53.0 | 2 | 6 | 3.40 | — | 83 | 1.09 |
| 2017 | — | 67 | 69.0 | 5 | 0 | 1.43 | — | 126 | 0.68 |
| 2018 | — | 63 | 62.1 | 5 | 1 | 2.74 | — | 96 | 0.99 |
| 2019 | — | 23 | 20.2 | 0 | 4 | 6.53 | — | 30 | 1.60 |
| 2020 | — | 18 | 15.1 | 0 | 1 | 5.28 | — | 28 | 1.43 |
| 2021 | — | 39 | 36.2 | 2 | 3 | 0.49 | — | 64 | 0.71 |
| 2021 | — | 24 | 23.0 | 2 | 2 | 5.09 | — | 36 | 1.22 |
| 2021 | — | 63 | 59.2 | 4 | 5 | 2.26 | — | 100 | 0.91 |
| 2022 | — | 63 | 60.0 | 6 | 7 | 3.75 | — | 72 | 1.32 |
| 2023 | — | 71 | 69.0 | 8 | 6 | 3.26 | — | 94 | 1.04 |
| 2024 | — | 57 | 52.1 | 7 | 5 | 5.33 | — | 73 | 1.36 |
| 2025 | — | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | — | 1 | 2.00 |
| 2025 | — | 13 | 11.0 | 0 | 1 | 2.45 | — | 16 | 1.36 |
| 2025 | — | 14 | 12.0 | 0 | 1 | 2.25 | — | 17 | 1.42 |
| 2026 | — | 14 | 15.0 | 0 | 2 | 6.00 | — | 15 | 1.47 |
| 2026 | — | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | — | 14 | 1.07 |
| 2026 | — | 29 | 30.0 | 0 | 2 | 4.50 | — | 29 | 1.27 |
| Career | 986 | 949.6 | 60 | 58 | — | — | 1457 | — | |
Each pitch type this pitcher throws regularly, placed by how the ball moves — sideways break across, rise or drop down the side. Each dotted ring holds about the middle 85% of the league’s pitches of that type, so a cluster sitting outside its ring is movement most pitchers don’t have.
The dots — a sample of this pitcher’s regular-season pitches, placed by movement: left–right is horizontal break, up–down is induced vertical break (what the pitch does beyond gravity). The view is handedness-neutral — positive break is toward the pitcher’s arm side for lefties and righties alike, so every sinker runs right and every sweeper breaks left, whoever throws it.
The dotted rings — about the middle 85% of where each pitch type lands league-wide (a 2-standard-deviation spread), measured from 7.5 million regular-season pitches since 2015. A cluster sitting well outside its ring is movement most of the league doesn’t get. Spring training and the postseason are excluded.
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.