Joel Kuhnel
P | Bats/Throws: R/R | 6' 5" 290LBS | Age: 29
Draft: 2016 | Rd: 11, #318, Cincinnati Reds | Texas-Arlington
W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP
2020 1 0 6.00 3 0 0 3 3 1.33
2022 2 3 6.36 53 0 1 58 56 1.40
2023 0 0 5.54 9 0 0 13 3 1.62
4 Seasons 4 3 6.02 76 0 1 83.2 71 1.42
G W-L ERA IP SO WHIP
2020 3 1-0 6.00 3 3 1.33
2022 53 2-3 6.36 58 56 1.40
2023 9 0-0 5.54 13 3 1.62
4 Seasons 76 4-3 6.02 83.2 71 1.42
MLB Percentile Rankings
Pitch Distribution

Statcast Statistics

Season Age Pitches Batted
Balls
Barrels Barrel % Barrel/PA Exit
Velocity
Max EV Launch
Angle
Sweet
Spot %
XBA XSLG WOBA XWOBA XWOBACON HardHit% K% BB% ERA xERA
2019 24 166 28 1 3.6 2.4 88.2 101.8 13.9 32.1 .197 .308 .282 .270 .282 32.1 21.4 11.9 4.66 3.16
2020 25 57 10 2 20.0 15.4 88.3 110.6 16.2 50.0 .199 .649 .440 .343 .445 20.0 23.1 0.0 6.00 5.10
2022 27 934 180 13 7.2 5.1 90.1 109.4 7.6 32.2 .238 .392 .347 .301 .358 39.5 22.0 5.5 6.36 3.75
2023 28 195 49 2 4.1 3.4 88.7 107.4 0.2 32.7 .325 .514 .368 .389 .381 44.9 5.2 8.6 5.54 6.82
Player 1352 267 18 6.7 4.9 89.6 110.6 7.2 33.0 .245 .412 .346 .313 .357 39.0 19.3 6.5
MLB 6.9 4.7 88.4 122.4 12.2 33.1 .245 .406 .316 .315 .369 36.3 22.1 8.4
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Statcast Pitch Arsenal

Kuhnel relies on 4 pitches.
Four Seamer
(39.5%) ,
Sinker
(22.6%) ,
Slider
(22.6%) ,
Changeup
(15.4%) ,


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Pitch Tracking



Batted Ball Profile

Season GB % FB % LD % PU % Pull % Straight % Oppo % Weak % Topped % Under % Flare/Burner % Solid % Barrel % Barrel/PA
2019 53.6 21.4 14.3 10.7 42.9 28.6 28.6 0.0 46.4 28.6 17.9 3.6 3.6 2.4
2020 30.0 70.0 0.0 0.0 20.0 40.0 40.0 0.0 30.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 20.0 15.4
2022 54.4 23.3 18.3 3.9 35.6 38.3 26.1 2.2 41.1 19.4 22.2 5.6 7.2 5.1
2023 57.1 18.4 20.4 4.1 32.7 38.8 28.6 4.1 44.9 18.4 22.4 4.1 4.1 3.4
Player 53.9 24.0 17.6 4.5 35.2 37.5 27.3 2.2 41.9 21.3 21.0 4.9 6.7 4.9
MLB 44.6 23.5 24.9 7.0 37.0 37.6 25.3 3.9 32.9 24.7 24.4 5.8 6.9 4.7
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Pitch Movement


How this works: Every pitch is affected by the forces of gravity, which means that every pitch drops on its way from the mound to the plate. These numbers are reported with gravity, which makes them larger and different than other pitch movement numbers you may have seen. Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren’t ‘better’ just because they have more time to move, the movement of a pitch is compared to ‘average’ movement by comparing it to other MLB pitch types within +/- 2 MPH and from within +/- 0.5 feet of extension and release.
Vertical Movement (inches) Horizontal Movement (inches)
Year Pitch Team Hand # MPH Inches of Drop vs Avg % vs Avg Inches of Break vs Avg % Break vs Avg
2023 Sinker HOU R 44 94.8 24.0 3.2 15 17.1 2.1 14
2023 4-Seam Fastball HOU R 77 94.2 18.6 -3.8 -25 9.5 2.5 36
2023 Changeup HOU R 30 89.1 29.9 2.0 7 13.1 -1.6 -11
2023 Slider HOU R 44 85.5 35.2 -0.6 -2 4.4 -0.4 -9
2022 4-Seam Fastball CIN R 229 96.2 17.1 -3.9 -30 7.1 -0.1 -2
2022 Slider CIN R 269 86.8 35.4 1.5 5 4.4 -0.1 -2
2022 Sinker CIN R 262 96.0 21.5 2.5 13 16.0 1.2 8
2022 Changeup CIN R 140 90.2 28.6 1.7 6 11.6 -2.9 -20
2020 Changeup CIN R 4 89.9 32.2 6.1 24 11.9 -0.9 -7
2020 4-Seam Fastball CIN R 22 95.4 16.5 -2.9 -22 7.9 0.8 11
2020 Sinker CIN R 11 95.3 21.1 2.2 12 15.1 1.2 9
2020 Slider CIN R 20 86.6 33.2 -1.6 -5 3.3 -1.0 -23
2019 4-Seam Fastball CIN R 62 96.2 14.2 -0.8 -6 8.0 1.0 14
2019 Changeup CIN R 8 89.3 28.8 2.1 8 9.7 -4.0 -29
2019 Sinker CIN R 42 95.6 18.6 -0.6 -3 14.3 0.3 2
2019 Slider CIN R 54 86.1 35.7 1.4 4 3.4 -0.3 -9
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
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Run Values by Pitch Type

Year Pitch Type Team RV/100 Run Value Pitches % PA BA SLG wOBA Whiff% K% PutAway % xBA xSLG xwOBA Hard Hit %
2023 4-Seam Fastball -0.7 -1 77 39.5 20 .313 .438 .400 25.6 5.0 5.3 .372 .550 .455 66.7
2023 Slider -1.2 -1 44 22.6 11 .273 .545 .345 28.6 18.2 13.3 .290 .528 .347 44.4
2023 Sinker 8.4 4 44 22.6 17 .188 .188 .156 3.6 0.0 0.0 .240 .283 .258 37.5
2023 Changeup -11.2 -3 30 15.4 9 .556 1.000 .661 16.7 0.0 0.0 .429 .820 .526 22.2
2022 Slider -2.1 -6 278 29.8 66 .328 .557 .379 34.8 30.3 20.6 .227 .383 .279 34.9
2022 Sinker -3.1 -8 270 28.9 80 .368 .515 .422 15.2 10.0 14.5 .259 .343 .321 42.6
2022 4-Seam Fastball 0.6 1 235 25.2 68 .238 .397 .300 28.1 22.1 19.5 .257 .440 .316 40.0
2022 Changeup -0.2 0 143 15.3 37 .200 .371 .249 25.4 35.1 25.0 .179 .413 .271 39.1
2020 4-Seam Fastball -2.1 0 22 38.6 8 .375 1.125 .613 16.7 0.0 0.0 .298 1.028 .532 25.0
2020 Slider 1.2 0 20 35.1 4 .250 .250 .225 25.0 75.0 75.0 .022 .025 .021 0.0
2020 Sinker -0.7 0 11 19.3 1 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 .115 .116 .108 0.0
2020 Changeup -2.7 0 4 7.0 -- -- -- -- -- 0.0 -- -- -- --
2019 4-Seam Fastball -0.3 0 62 37.3 23 .211 .421 .341 33.3 26.1 28.6 .160 .303 .280 15.4
2019 Slider 2.4 1 54 32.5 9 .125 .125 .178 37.0 22.2 20.0 .237 .285 .277 66.7
2019 Sinker -4.9 -2 42 25.3 10 .300 .300 .360 10.5 10.0 9.1 .235 .337 .245 33.3
2019 Changeup 2.1 0 8 4.8 -- -- -- 25.0 -- 0.0 -- -- -- --
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
! Note: To better align with other values, positive numbers (red) are good, and negative numbers (blue) are poor.
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Spin Direction

Year Pitch Type Pitches MPH Active Spin % Total Movement (In.) Spin-Based Observed Deviation
2023 Changeup 30 89.1 93 14.3 1:45 2:30 -45
2023 4-Seam Fastball 74 94.2 81 15.1 1:30 1:15 15
2023 Sinker 44 94.8 86 18.8 1:30 2:30 -60
2023 Slider 44 85.5 25 5.4 10:00 9:30 30
2022 Changeup 128 90.2 88 12.9 1:30 2:30 -60
2022 4-Seam Fastball 228 96.2 77 14.0 1:15 1:00 15
2022 Sinker 256 96.1 84 18.3 1:15 2:15 -60
2022 Slider 265 86.8 24 5.2 10:00 8:45 75
2020 4-Seam Fastball 21 95.5 78 15.3 1:15 1:00 15
2020 Slider 17 86.6 20 4.9 10:00 9:45 15
! Note: This table is showing data from the PITCHER perspective.
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Swing/Take

Runs
Year Team PA Pitches Heart Shadow Chase Waste All
2019 42 166 -1 1 0 -1 -1
2022 251 926 1 -5 -5 -4 -13
2023 57 195 0 0 -1 0 -1
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Plate Discipline

Season Pitches Zone % Zone Swing % Zone Contact % Chase % Chase Contact % Edge % 1st Pitch Strike % Swing % Whiff % Meatball % Meatball Swing %
2019 166 41.6 75.4 82.7 35.1 50.0 38.6 69.0 51.8 29.1 6.0 70.0
2020 57 47.4 55.6 93.3 13.3 50.0 35.1 69.2 33.3 15.8 5.3 100.0
2022 934 49.7 68.5 81.6 30.9 59.0 45.1 59.1 49.7 25.2 8.0 79.7
2023 195 54.4 76.4 84.0 21.3 68.4 39.5 58.6 51.3 19.0 7.2 100.0
Player 1,352 49.3 69.9 82.5 29.5 58.2 43.1 60.5 49.5 24.5 7.5 82.2
MLB 48.6 67.0 82.0 28.5 58.0 42.6 60.9 47.1 24.8 7.3 76.1
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Percentile Rankings

Year xwOBA /
xERA
xBA xSLG xISO xOBP Brl Brl% EV Hard
Hit%
K% BB% Whiff% Chase
Rate
FB
Velo
FB
Spin
CB
Spin
Extension
2019 87 50 95
2022 55 50 41 36 64 62 50 12 32 44 86 48 65 85 51 94
2023 56 36 94
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Expected Home Runs

Year Team Avg HR Trot Actual HR xHR HR-xHR Doubters Mostly Gone No Doubters No Doubter %
2019 21.3 1 0.7 0 0 1 0 0.0
2020 23.4 2 1.7 0 0 2 0 0.0
2022 24.1 8 6.9 1 3 8 1 12.5
2023 22.1 2 2.0 0 1 1 1 50.0
Player 23.5 13 11.3 2 4 12 2 15.4

Expected Home Runs by Park

Year HR
2019 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0
2020 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 0 1 2 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 2 2 2
2022 8 7 9 8 8 7 8 5 3 6 4 11 8 6 7 9 8 5 7 6 5 7 9 7 4 5 9 8 8 6 7
2023 2 1 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Player 13 11 15 12 13 11 13 10 5 9 8 15 13 11 11 14 12 9 11 11 10 12 14 12 9 9 12 13 13 10 11
! Note: This tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. This accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects. For these purposes, the 2020 Blue Jays home field was still Rogers Centre, not Sahlen Field.
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Year to Year Changes

Metric 2019 2020 +/-   2021 +/-   2022 +/-   2023 +/-  
Fastball Velocity 96.0 -- -0.6 -- -- 96.1 -- 94.4 -1.7
Offspeed Velocity 89.3 -- 0.6 -- -- 90.2 -- 89.1 -1.1
Breaking Velocity 86.1 -- 0.5 -- -- 86.8 -- 85.5 -1.3
Exit Velocity 88.2 -- 0.1 -- -- 90.1 -- 88.7 -1.4
Launch Angle 13.9 -- 2.3 -- -- 7.6 -- 0.2 -7.4
Barrel % 3.6 -- 16.4 -- -- 7.2 -- 4.1 -3.1
Hard Hit % 32.1 -- -12.1 -- -- 39.5 -- 44.9 5.4
Sweet Spot % 32.1 -- 17.9 -- -- 32.2 -- 32.7 0.5
xBA .197 -- 0.002 -- -- .238 -- .325 0.087
BA .216 -- 0.092 -- -- .291 -- .308 0.017
xwOBA .270 -- 0.073 -- -- .301 -- .389 0.088
wOBA .282 -- 0.158 -- -- .347 -- .368 0.021
xSLG .308 -- 0.341 -- -- .392 -- .514 0.122
SLG .324 -- 0.445 -- -- .465 -- .481 0.016
K% 21.4 -- 1.7 -- -- 22.0 -- 5.2 -16.8
BB% 11.9 -- -11.9 -- -- 5.5 -- 8.6 3.1
Swing % 51.8 -- -18.5 -- -- 49.7 -- 51.3 1.6
Whiff% 29.1 -- -13.3 -- -- 25.2 -- 19.0 -6.2
In Zone % 41.6 -- 5.8 -- -- 49.7 -- 54.4 4.7
Out of Zone % 58.4 -- -5.8 -- -- 50.3 -- 45.6 -4.7
Out of Zone Swing % 35.1 -- -21.8 -- -- 30.9 -- 21.3 -9.6
First Pitch Swing % 47.6 -- -32.2 -- -- 26.0 -- 34.5 8.5
First Pitch Strike % 69.0 -- 0.2 -- -- 59.1 -- 58.6 -0.5
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Statcast Fielder Positioning

vs RHHvs LHH
YearAlignment TypePAwOBAPATotal%PATotal%
2019 Shifts 42 .282 25 2 8.0 17 8 47.1
2020 Shifts 13 .440 5 0 0.0 8 6 75.0
2022 Shifts 251 .351 155 17 11.0 96 56 58.3
2023 Shades 57 .368 30 2 6.7 27 19 70.4
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field.
Learn more about how positioning is defined here

Pitch Tempo

Bases EmptyRunners On Base
SeasonTeamPitchesTempoFast %Slow %PitchesTempoFast %Slow %
2019 45 18.0 17.8% 2.2% 26 20.1 0.0% 3.8%
2020 36 17.8 16.7% 0.0% 0 -- -- --
2022 241 17.0 24.1% 2.5% 171 18.6 8.8% 2.9%
2023 39 14.2 61.5% 0.0% 43 16.8 20.9% 0.0%
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Pitch Distribution