Pitcher · 2025
Sam Long
- Age
- 30
- B/T
- L/L
- Height
- 6' 1"
- Weight
- 185 lb
- Number
- #73
- Born
- July 8, 1995 in Fair Oaks, CA, USA
- MLB debut
- June 9, 2021
- Drafted
- 2016, round 18
- College
- Sacramento State
- High school
- Del Campo
- dbWAR
- -.1 2 season(s)
- IP
- 40.1
- ERA
- 5.36
- FIP
- 5.54
- K/9
- 7.4
- FIP−
- 133 100 = avg
Sam Long is a relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. In 2025 he struck out 33 batters over 40.1 innings across 39 appearances, going 2-3. His ERA of 5.36 was 28.8% higher than the league average of 4.16 — the second worst on his team, and 439th of 542 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 5.54 FIP suggests the ERA was no fluke. He missed bats on 19.1% of swings (8.8% of every pitch he threw), walked 11.6% of the batters he faced and struck out 17.5%. His -0.4 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.
League context
Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2025.
Platoon splits
How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.
| Split | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs LHB | 75 | 67 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 14 | .328 | .400 | .507 | .397 | 18.7% |
| vs RHB | 114 | 98 | 26 | 4 | 15 | 19 | .265 | .368 | .439 | .356 | 16.7% |
Pitch sequencing
What Sam Long throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Sam Long throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, and how often it misses in 2025.
| Four-Seam Fastball | 277 | 93.2 | 2,312 | 48.0% | 11.2% | |
| Slider | 202 | 84.9 | 2,260 | 47.5% | 31.3% | |
| Curveball | 141 | 76.8 | 2,595 | 46.8% | 23.7% | |
| Sinker | 85 | 92.7 | 2,192 | 40.0% | 10.3% | |
| Splitter | 73 | 86.4 | 1,591 | 31.5% | 13.8% |
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 39 | 0 | 40.1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 24 | 33 | 22 | 5.36 | 5.54 | 1.74 | 7.4 | 4.9 | 129 | 133 | -0.4 | |
| 2024 | 43 | 0 | 42.2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 15 | 44 | 17 | 3.16 | 3.89 | 1.20 | 9.3 | 3.6 | 78 | 95 | 0.3 |
Head to head
Put Sam Long beside up to three others.
Similar players
Nearest 2025 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.
wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.