Craig Kimbrel Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 0" / 215 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 5/28/1988 (33)
- Experience
- 10
- College
- Wallace State CC (AL)
Craig Kimbrel Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Craig Kimbrel News
The Chicago White Sox exercised their $16 million team option on relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel for next year, but he could be on the move with All-Star closer Liam Hendriks still in the fold as the team's ninth-inning guy. With this year's free-agent class of relievers lacking elite closing options, Kimbrel could be at a premium and won't require a long-term commitment. The hard-throwing right-hander was pretty bad in the shortened 2020 season and he had a 5.09 ERA and only one save for the Pale Hose after the acquired him from the Chicago Cubs, but he did finish 2021 with a nice 2.26 ERA, a 15.1 K/9 and a 3.5 BB/9. Kimbrel's fantasy value will remain depressed unless he's traded to a team that will install him as their everyday closer.
As expected, the Chicago White Sox exercised their $16 million team option on relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel on Saturday, according to a source familiar with the situation. Kimbrel had a huge bounce-back season in 2021 after he had a 5.28 ERA while walking 7.0 hitters per nine innings in 18 appearances over 15 1/3 innings for the Chicago Cubs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The hard-throwing right-hander was back to his elite self with the Cubs and White Sox this season, posting a 2.26 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 3.5 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings to go with 24 saves. However, Kimbrel had only one save after joining the White Sox, and his fantasy value will continue to be hurt by the fact that Liam Hendricks remains entrenched as the team's ninth-inning closer.
Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel recorded his 24th save on the season versus the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. Kimbrel was called upon to protect a three-run lead and allowed one single in an otherwise perfect inning with one strikeout. Closer Liam Hendriks went 1 2/3 innings on Wednesday and was unavailable on Thursday. Kimbrel only allowed two runs and recorded 22 saves for the Chicago Cubs, but his time with the White Sox hasn't been as pretty. It was a good sign to see Kimbrel work a strong inning, but Hendriks is likely be the first name called in the ninth inning on most nights. Kimbrel has now recorded two saves with his new team and has a 5.23 ERA in 10 1/3 innings for the White Sox. For the season, the veteran is 2-4 with a 1.53 ERA to go along with 79 strikeouts in 47 innings. With Hendriks remaining the closer on most nights, Kimbrel's best value is in leagues that count holds.
Batting Order
| 1 | Tim Anderson |
| 2 | Yoán Moncada |
| 3 | Luis Robert |
| 4 | José Abreu |
| 5 | Yasmani Grandal |
| 6 | Eloy Jiménez |
| 7 | Gavin Sheets |
| 8 | Leury García |
| 9 | César Hernández |
Craig Kimbrel Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
| 1 | Tim Anderson |
| 2 | Yoán Moncada |
| 3 | Luis Robert |
| 4 | José Abreu |
| 5 | Yasmani Grandal |
| 6 | Eloy Jiménez |
| 7 | Gavin Sheets |
| 8 | Leury García |
| 9 | César Hernández |
I was the conductor aboard the Avoid-Kimbrel-at-all-Costs Train heading into 2019 AND 2020. I watched every outing of his for the Red Sox in the second half of 2018. Something was very wrong and it continued to get worse as the team marched through the playoffs. So I knew the disastrous 2019 season was no fluke. So what went wrong... again? The theory of tipping pitches came out after the 2018 World Series, and came out again in 2020 after Craig Kimbrel walked four and hit a batter while recording only one out in his first appearance against Cincy. While the theory sounds a little crazy to me when a pitcher only has two pitches to start with, it would certainly explain his recent swing rates against the curveball. Kimbrel only generated a 27.4 Swing% with the curve in 2020. That is 17 points lower than in 2019 and 12 points lower than his career average. The pitch may have lost a bit of movement over the years, but it still carried a 51.9 K% and .143 SLG even in this down year. Regardless of tipping or losing its bite, hitters were able to avoid it and sit on the cheese to the tune of an .812 OPS. Despite all of the troubles the past few seasons for Kimbrel, 2020 ended strongly trending in the right direction. His K% was it's highest since 2017 and the GB% increased for the second straight season, and the velocity was also back up over 97 after a worrisome dip in 2019. He ended the shortened campaign on a torrid run with 7.1 scoreless innings, 13 strikeouts, and ZERO walks. That's something he hasn't done since 2017. I never expect prime Kimbrel to be back, but 2020 showed that he is still capable of figuring it out, and considering Jeremy Jeffress is a free agent and Kimbrel is owed $16 million this season, I have a strong feeling the Cubs are willing to let him. His current NFBC of 217 overall presents an opportunity for a great return on investment if he can carry the momentum into 2021.