2026 Stats
W-L
2-0
ERA
3.86
WHIP
1.46
K
8
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2026 Fantasy Outlook
After spending parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level between the Rockies and Tigers organizations, Poulin got his first taste of the majors in 2025. The 29-year-old southpaw was claimed by Washington last August and headed straight to the majors, posting a 1.59 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 18:7 K:BB across his first 17.0 MLB innings. A few poor outings in September impacted his ratios overall, but Poulin received some high-leverage work, picking up five holds and a save across 28 appearances. Poulin doesn't throw hard - he tossed his four-seam fastball 90.8 mph on average - but he mixes in a sweeper, changeup and occasional sinker to keep hitters off-balance. He averaged nearly 11 strikeouts per nine-innings in the minors, but walks were an issue and figure to remain so at the highest level. With the Nationals trading Jose Ferrer earlier this offseason, Poulin enters 2026 as one of the team's top lefties out of the pen. Save chances are possible, but shouldn't be expected. Read Past Outlooks
Signed a one-year contract with the Nationals in March of 2026.
Drawing opener assignment
Poulin will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher for Tuesday's game in Pittsburgh, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Analysis
Miles Mikolas had been in line to start Tuesday, but after he allowed 19 runs (17 earned) in 12.1 innings through his first three outings of the season, the Nationals will instead deploy him in bulk relief behind Poulin with the hope that the arrangement yields better results. Poulin will be opening a game for the second time this season, after he previously tossed a scoreless frame March 31 against the Phillies. Like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh typically features two left-handed batters (Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe) in its top three lineup spots, so having the left-handed Poulin open the game could help the Nationals avoid falling into an early hole.
Miles Mikolas had been in line to start Tuesday, but after he allowed 19 runs (17 earned) in 12.1 innings through his first three outings of the season, the Nationals will instead deploy him in bulk relief behind Poulin with the hope that the arrangement yields better results. Poulin will be opening a game for the second time this season, after he previously tossed a scoreless frame March 31 against the Phillies. Like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh typically features two left-handed batters (Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe) in its top three lineup spots, so having the left-handed Poulin open the game could help the Nationals avoid falling into an early hole.
Pitching Stats
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2026 MLB Game Log
2026
2025
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
17
Last 10 Games
14
Last 5 Games
13
How many pitches does PJ Poulin generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does PJ Poulin generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-20%
BAA vs LHP
2026
-48%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024vs Left | .214 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 4 | |||
| Since 2024vs Right | .266 | 15 | 12 | 21 | 1 | |||
| 2026vs Left | .158 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |||
| 2026vs Right | .304 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 1 | |||
| 2025vs Left | .243 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 2 | |||
| 2025vs Right | .250 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2024vs Left | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2024vs Right | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | |||||||
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2024
-4%
ERA on Road
2026
-56%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2024Home | 3.79 | 1.32 | 19.0 | 9.9 | 3.8 | ||||
| Since 2024Away | 3.63 | 1.62 | 17.1 | 7.3 | 6.2 | ||||
| 2026Home | 5.79 | 1.50 | 4.2 | 9.6 | 5.8 | ||||
| 2026Away | 2.57 | 1.43 | 7.0 | 3.9 | 5.1 | ||||
| 2025Home | 3.14 | 1.26 | 14.1 | 10.0 | 3.1 | ||||
| 2025Away | 4.35 | 1.74 | 10.1 | 9.6 | 7.0 | ||||
| 2024Home | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2024Away | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| More Splits→ | View More Split Stats | ||||||||
Stat Review
How does PJ Poulin compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
1.14K/9
6.2BB/9
5.4HR/9
2.3Fastball
89.7 mphERA
3.86WHIP
1.46BABIP
.219GB/FB
1.21Left On Base
93.8%Exit Velocity
82.5 mphBarrels/BBE
10.4%Spin Rate
2124 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
22.9%Swinging Strike
7.2%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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More Fantasy News
Picks up first win of year
Poulin (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth inning Friday to record his first win of the season in the Nationals' 7-3 victory over the Brewers.
Analysis
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Working as opener Tuesday
Poulin will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
Analysis
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Will begin year in bullpen
Poulin has claimed a spot in the Nationals' Opening Day bullpen, Jessica Camerato and Paige Leckie of MLB.com report.
Analysis
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Secures first career save
Poulin struck out one in a perfect 11th inning Saturday to record his first career save in a 5-3 win over the Mets. He struck out one.
Analysis
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Nabs first MLB win
Poulin (1-1) picked up the win over the Phillies on Friday, striking out three over two perfect innings of relief.
Analysis
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