Breaking Down Kris Bubic's Pitch Mix

Any major-league starting pitcher wants to have a strong suit of pitches to select from when taking the mound. For the Royals' Kris Bubic, he's put together a strong suit to select from this season.

Bubic, a left-hander, finished 2025 with a 2.89 FIP in 116 1/3 innings and 20 starts. He recorded 116 strikeouts, good for a 24.4% strikeout rate. He also finished a .277 wOBA, well below the baseball-wide average of .313. Now, entering the 2026 MLB season, Bubic wants to dig into his arsenal of pitches and make them all work together.

But what does that arsenal look like?

According to Baseball Savant, Bubic uses a four-seam fastball, a changeup, a sweeper, a slider, and a sinker to keep opposing hitters guessing.

Per his Statcast Pitch Arsenal, Bubic uses his four-seamer the most at 38.1% of the time. Next is his changeup, which Bubic throws it 21.1% of the time. As for the sweeper and slider, he uses them 28.9% and 13.4% of the time, respectively. And the sinker? He's used that 6.5% of the time when he's on the mound.

Let's break down how Bubic used his pitches against left-handed and right-handed hitters in 2025. Baseball Savant data indicate Bubic used his four-seamer 38% of the time, with 42% against right-handed hitters and 25% against left-handed hitters. Bubic used his changeup 21% of the time, with 27% against righties versus just 3% against lefties.

Bubic saved his sweepers, sliders, and sinkers for left-handed hitters. His overall sweeper percentage was 21%, but against lefties, he threw it 26% of the time and 19% against right-handers. He used his slider 13% of the time in the 2025 MLB season, with 27% usage against lefties and 9% usage against righties. And the sinker? Bubic used it 7% of the time in 2025, with 19% versus lefties and 3% against righties.

With these percentage breakdowns, Bubic has a chance to evaluate which pitches will prove effective in different situations.

Ever since Bubic entered the majors back in 2020, he's shown a willingness to adjust his arm angle, too. When he first arrived for the Royals, he was throwing at a 45-degree arm angle. That dropped to a 37-degree angle in 2023, rose to a 41-degree angle in 2024, and dropped back to a 38-degree angle last season.

Can Bubic put all of this data together for even better results in 2026? Royals manager Matt Quatraro and pitching coach Brian Sweeney sure hope so. And they really hope that Bubic can stay healthy, especially since he missed a chunk of the 2025 MLB season after dealing with his left rotator cuff strain.

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