Michael King
#34 Active2026 Fantasy Baseball Player Profile
Michael King’s 2025 season was a frustrating "bridge" year defined by elite flashes and significant durability concerns. After a monstrous 2024 campaign (2.95 ERA, 201 K), King’s walk year was marred by two major injury stints: first, a thoracic nerve impingement in his right shoulder that sidelined him from May to August, and later, nagging left knee inflammation. He managed just 15 starts, finishing with a 5-3 record, 3.44 ERA, and 1.20 WHIP over 73.1 innings. While his surface numbers remained respectable, his swing-and-miss stuff lacked its usual bite late in the year, culminating in a 6.11 ERA over his final five starts that ultimately cost him a spot in the Padres' postseason rotation.
Despite the injury-riddled finish, King secured his future in San Diego by signing a three-year, $75 million contract extension on December 19, 2025. The deal is essentially a "bet on himself" structure, featuring a $12 million signing bonus and player options for 2027 and 2028, allowing him to opt out after this season if he returns to his 2024 Cy Young-caliber form. Entering 2026, the 30-year-old is the locked-in No. 2 starter behind Nick Pivetta. He arrived in Peoria with a "clean bill of health" and has been a focal point of spring camp, notably skipping the 2026 World Baseball Classic to focus on stabilizing a Padres rotation that lost Dylan Cease to free agency and Yu Darvish to elbow surgery.
For fantasy managers, King remains one of the most polarizing "ceiling" plays in the middle rounds, with an ADP around 115.
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Game Log
2026 Regular Season| DATE | OPPONENT | DEC | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | WHIP | PC | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | @ Los Angeles Dodgers | L | 4.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3.20 | 1.16 | 81 | L 0-7 |
| Sep 17 | @ Colorado Rockies | W | 6.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3.00 | 1.14 | 104 | W 9-2 |
| Sep 12 | @ San Francisco Giants | W | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3.00 | 1.13 | 96 | W 7-6 |
| Sep 6 | vs. New York Yankees | W | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2.96 | 1.14 | 96 | W 3-4 |
| Aug 31 | @ Cincinnati Reds | W | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3.08 | 1.14 | 96 | W 5-0 |
| Aug 25 | vs. Pittsburgh Pirates | 7.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3.21 | 1.14 | 98 | L 1-0 | |
| Aug 19 | @ New York Mets | L | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3.38 | 1.15 | 100 | L 2-4 |
| Aug 14 | @ Cleveland Guardians | W | 6.0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3.42 | 1.16 | 83 | W 7-5 |
| Aug 8 | vs. Houston Astros | W | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3.37 | 1.15 | 93 | W 2-3 |
| Aug 3 | @ Arizona Diamondbacks | L | 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3.46 | 1.17 | 104 | L 1-5 |
| Jul 28 | vs. Colorado Rockies | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3.38 | 1.14 | 14 | W 7-8 | |
| Jul 8 | vs. Arizona Diamondbacks | W | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3.41 | 1.15 | 92 | W 4-10 |
| Jul 3 | @ Los Angeles Dodgers | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3.52 | 1.16 | 75 | L 3-4 | |
| Jun 28 | vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | L | 4.1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 3.55 | 1.18 | 90 | L 4-2 |
| Jun 22 | vs. Atlanta Braves | W | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3.33 | 1.16 | 93 | W 0-1 |
| Jun 16 | @ St. Louis Cardinals | L | 4.1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3.60 | 1.19 | 93 | L 2-3 |
| Jun 10 | vs. Cincinnati Reds | 6.2 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3.46 | 1.15 | 106 | W 4-5 | |
| Jun 5 | vs. New York Mets | L | 6.0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3.41 | 1.12 | 93 | L 5-0 |
| May 30 | @ Washington Nationals | L | 6.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3.18 | 1.13 | 77 | L 4-9 |
| May 24 | vs. Las Vegas Athletics | L | 3.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2.76 | 1.15 | 81 | L 5-2 |
| May 18 | vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | W | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2.31 | 1.06 | 100 | W 0-1 |
| May 13 | @ Milwaukee Brewers | 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2.63 | 1.09 | 99 | W 3-1 | |
| May 7 | vs. St. Louis Cardinals | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2.76 | 1.05 | 86 | L 2-1 | |
| May 2 | vs. Chicago White Sox | L | 6.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2.95 | 1.13 | 92 | L 4-0 |
| Apr 26 | @ Arizona Diamondbacks | 6.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2.41 | 1.04 | 106 | L 7-12 | |
| Apr 19 | @ Los Angeles Angels | W | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 2.28 | 1.12 | 105 | W 2-1 |
| Apr 14 | vs. Seattle Mariners | W | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2.78 | 1.15 | 85 | W 1-4 |
| Apr 8 | @ Pittsburgh Pirates | W | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3.24 | 1.20 | 95 | W 8-2 |
| Apr 3 | @ Boston Red Sox | L | 5.2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3.38 | 1.22 | 81 | L 2-5 |
| Mar 27 | vs. Detroit Tigers | 5.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 82 | L 5-2 | |
| No games against that opponent. | |||||||||||||
| Total | 12-10 | 169.0 | 133 | 62 | 60 | 17 | 63 | 145 | 3.20 | 1.16 | 2,696 | ||
| Total | 3 games | 1-1 | 17.0 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 3.18 | 1.12 | 302 | |
| Total | 1 game | 1-0 | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.00 | 0.86 | 93 | |
| Total | 1 game | 0-1 | 5.2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6.35 | 1.41 | 81 | |
| Total | 1 game | 0-1 | 6.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6.00 | 1.67 | 92 | |
| Total | 2 games | 1-0 | 12.2 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 2.13 | 1.34 | 202 | |
| Total | 1 game | 1-0 | 6.0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4.50 | 1.50 | 83 | |
| Total | 2 games | 1-0 | 7.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2.57 | 1.29 | 118 | |
| Total | 1 game | 0-0 | 5.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 82 | |
| Total | 1 game | 1-0 | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1.50 | 0.67 | 93 | |
| Total | 1 game | 0-1 | 3.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9.82 | 2.45 | 81 | |
| Total | 1 game | 1-0 | 5.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.00 | 1.00 | 105 | |
| Total | 4 games | 1-2 | 21.1 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 24 | 4.64 | 1.22 | 346 | |
| Total | 1 game | 0-0 | 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1.59 | 1.41 | 99 | |
| Total | 2 games | 0-2 | 12.2 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 4.26 | 0.95 | 193 | |
| Total | 1 game | 1-0 | 6.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.00 | 1.17 | 96 | |
| Total | 2 games | 1-0 | 13.0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 1.38 | 1.08 | 193 | |
| Total | 1 game | 1-0 | 7.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3.86 | 0.71 | 96 | |
| Total | 1 game | 1-0 | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 85 | |
| Total | 2 games | 0-1 | 10.1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 3.48 | 1.06 | 179 | |
| Total | 1 game | 0-1 | 6.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7.50 | 1.00 | 77 | |
AVG, OBP, SLG, ERA and WHIP are season-to-date through each game, not that game alone — so the column reads as a trend and its last value is the season figure. They stay season-to-date when the log is filtered by opponent; the figure for the filtered games is the one in the Total row. The second game of a doubleheader is marked (2).
