Bereavement
Injury Personal
Est. Return 7/10/2026
2026 Stats
W-L
4-3
ERA
4.50
WHIP
1.24
K
34
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2026 Fantasy Outlook
Kolek narrowly missed out on a rotation spot with the Padres last spring, beginning 2025 back at the Triple-A level. He got the call in early May for his first career big-league start, and Kolek proceeded to pitch 14.1 consecutive scoreless innings upon arrival, including nine in a historic shutout in Colorado. Not only was the 21-0 margin of victory one of the largest in a shutout in league history, Kolek became just second Padres pitcher to record a shutout in the 30-year history of Coors Field. The right-hander then posted a 5.10 ERA in his subsequent 12 starts before being shipped to Kansas City at the trade deadline. Kolek bookended his season with another strong stretch, posting a 1.91 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 21:5 K:BB over 33 innings with the Royals. Even with that, Kolek, a groundballer with minimal swing-and-miss in his profile, won't be assured a starting role to begin 2026. Read Past Outlooks
Signed a one-year, $793,250 contract with the Royals in February of 2026.
Goes on family emergency list
The Royals placed Kolek (personal) on the Family Medical Emergency List on Saturday.
Analysis
Kolek's next start is tentatively slated for next week on the road against the Mets, though it's unclear whether he'll be with the team at that time. He took the loss in his last start against the Rays on Thursday, when he allowed three runs on four hits and one walk across two innings without recording a strikeout. Prior to that outing, Kolek spent some time on the paternity list and then the family medical emergency list before rejoining the team Thursday. The Royals recalled right-hander Jose Cuas from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move.
Kolek's next start is tentatively slated for next week on the road against the Mets, though it's unclear whether he'll be with the team at that time. He took the loss in his last start against the Rays on Thursday, when he allowed three runs on four hits and one walk across two innings without recording a strikeout. Prior to that outing, Kolek spent some time on the paternity list and then the family medical emergency list before rejoining the team Thursday. The Royals recalled right-hander Jose Cuas from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move.
Pitching Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
2024
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
84
Last 10 Games
84
Last 5 Games
76
How many pitches does Stephen Kolek 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 Stephen Kolek 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 2024
-7%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-10%
BAA vs RHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .249 | 87 | 33 | 107 | 11 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .267 | 63 | 22 | 105 | 10 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .273 | 24 | 5 | 33 | 4 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .247 | 10 | 7 | 22 | 4 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .229 | 48 | 23 | 51 | 7 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .242 | 29 | 8 | 47 | 2 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .271 | 15 | 5 | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .327 | 24 | 7 | 36 | 4 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-27%
ERA on Road
2026
-8%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 4.85 | 1.25 | 98.1 | 6.1 | 1.6 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 3.52 | 1.25 | 115.0 | 6.5 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2026Home | 4.65 | 1.26 | 31.0 | 3.5 | 1.5 | ||||
| 2026Away | 4.30 | 1.22 | 23.0 | 8.6 | 2.7 | ||||
| 2025Home | 5.58 | 1.17 | 40.1 | 6.5 | 1.6 | ||||
| 2025Away | 2.36 | 1.13 | 72.1 | 6.0 | 3.0 | ||||
| 2024Home | 4.00 | 1.37 | 27.0 | 8.7 | 2.0 | ||||
| 2024Away | 6.86 | 1.73 | 19.2 | 5.9 | 2.7 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does Stephen Kolek 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
2.83K/9
5.7BB/9
2.0HR/9
1.3Fastball
94.1 mphERA
4.50WHIP
1.24BABIP
.284GB/FB
1.57Left On Base
66.3%Exit Velocity
83.4 mphBarrels/BBE
4.3%Spin Rate
2219 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
25.2%Swinging Strike
9.1%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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More Fantasy News
Rusty in third loss
Kolek (4-3) took the loss Thursday against the Rays, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk in two innings. He failed to record a strikeout.
Analysis
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Activated ahead of Thursday's start
The Royals activated Kolek (personal) from the family medical emergency list Thursday.
Analysis
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Expected to start Thursday
Kolek (personal) is expected to return from the family medical emergency list to start Thursday's game against Tampa Bay, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Analysis
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Shifts to family emergency list
The Royals transferred Kolek (personal) from the paternity list to the family medical emergency list Tuesday.
Analysis
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Going on paternity list
Kolek won't be available to make his scheduled start Friday against the White Sox and is expected to be placed on the paternity list prior to the contest, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.
Analysis
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Potential trade candidate
The Royals are receiving trade proposals centered around Kolek this offseason, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Analysis
Kolek is one of several Royals pitchers who have been attracting interest in the trade market this offseason. He made 19 starts in the 2025 regular season between the Padres and Royals, posting a 3.51 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP across 112.2 innings. He's expected to compete for a spot in the rotation in spring training.
Kolek is one of several Royals pitchers who have been attracting interest in the trade market this offseason. He made 19 starts in the 2025 regular season between the Padres and Royals, posting a 3.51 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP across 112.2 innings. He's expected to compete for a spot in the rotation in spring training.