2026 Stats
W-L
4-1
ERA
2.68
WHIP
1.03
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.
Tosses 7.1 scoreless innings Sunday
Kolek (4-1) earned the win Sunday against the Astros, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out four over 7.1 scoreless innings.
Analysis
Kolek was impressive Sunday, throwing 63 of his 97 pitches for strikes while generating 12 whiffs. The right-hander retired 11 of 12 batters during the middle innings and worked out of a seventh-inning jam by inducing a double play with runners on first and second. He ran into trouble again in the eighth, exiting with two aboard, but reliever Steven Cruz stranded both runners to preserve the shutout. Kolek has now held opponents to two or fewer runs in five of his last six starts, lowering his season ERA to 2.68 to go along with a 1.03 WHIP and 34:10 K:BB across 50.1 innings. He's slated to face the Cardinals in his next start.
Kolek was impressive Sunday, throwing 63 of his 97 pitches for strikes while generating 12 whiffs. The right-hander retired 11 of 12 batters during the middle innings and worked out of a seventh-inning jam by inducing a double play with runners on first and second. He ran into trouble again in the eighth, exiting with two aboard, but reliever Steven Cruz stranded both runners to preserve the shutout. Kolek has now held opponents to two or fewer runs in five of his last six starts, lowering his season ERA to 2.68 to go along with a 1.03 WHIP and 34:10 K:BB across 50.1 innings. He's slated to face the Cardinals in his next start.
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
92
Last 10 Games
92
Last 5 Games
96
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
-12%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-8%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .234 | 87 | 32 | 97 | 9 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .265 | 63 | 21 | 102 | 9 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .217 | 24 | 4 | 23 | 2 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .235 | 10 | 6 | 19 | 3 | |||
| 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
-10%
ERA on Road
2026
-69%
ERA at Home
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 3.90 | 1.14 | 94.2 | 6.4 | 1.5 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 3.52 | 1.25 | 115.0 | 6.5 | 2.9 | ||||
| 2026Home | 1.32 | 0.88 | 27.1 | 4.0 | 1.0 | ||||
| 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
3.40K/9
6.1BB/9
1.8HR/9
0.9Fastball
94.0 mphERA
2.68WHIP
1.03BABIP
.255GB/FB
1.71Left On Base
75.6%Exit Velocity
83.5 mphBarrels/BBE
4.2%Spin Rate
2207 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
26.0%Swinging Strike
9.6%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
Dodges traffic in no-decision
Kolek allowed two runs (one earned) on eight hits and one walk while striking out three batters over five innings in a no-decision against Texas on Tuesday.
Analysis
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Reinstated ahead of Tuesday's start
The Royals activated Kolek from the family medical emergency list Tuesday.
Analysis
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Rejoining rotation Tuesday
Kolek (personal) is listed as the Royals' probable starter for Tuesday's game against the Rangers in Kansas City.
Analysis
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Placed on family emergency list
The Royals placed Kolek on the family medical emergency leave list Thursday.
Analysis
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Season-high eight strikeouts
Kolek took a no-decision Wednesday against the Reds, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out eight.
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.