Kevin Kelly

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Tampa Bay Rays #27 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Kelly spent two seasons in James Madison's rotation including a year as the school's Friday starter before the Guardians selected him in the 19th round. The Guardians immediately moved him to the bullpen. His lone pro start is as a two-inning opener, but his time as a college starter has helped him battle and show plenty of guile. Even with a crowded 40-man roster, the Rays liked Kelly enough to pay cash to the Rockies to get the Rockies to pick him for them in the Rule 5 draft.
  
  Scouting Report: Kelly is a sidearmer who rarely dominates, but never gets dominated. There's nothing all that flashy about his low-90s sinker, his four-seam fastball or his sweepy average slider. But hitters rarely square Kelly up, and more often, they end up hitting a grounder off his sinker or slider for weak contact. Like a number of sinker-slider righthanders, he's deadly to righthanded hitters but more vulnerable against lefties, although he can drop over a curve to try to give them something else to worry about.
  
  The Future: The Rays love to give hitters different looks when they go to the bullpen. Kelly fits that perfectly, and he was one of the most MLB-ready pitchers available in the Rule 5 draft as a reliever with more than 30 successful outings at Triple-A.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 55. Curveball: 45. Control: 55.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #412 prospect in 2019 draft
  A 6-foot-2, 210-pound righthander, Kelly has less stuff than most pitchers ranked in the top 500, but thanks to a sidearm delivery and good control, he's created uncomfortable at-bats for hitters over his three-year career in the Colonial Athletic Association. Kelly's fastball sits in the mid-80s and touches 89, and he throws both a slider and a curveball that are below-average. He's posted a 3.54 ERA this spring in 13 starts and 76 innings, with 81 strikeouts (9.5 per nine) and just 20 walks (2.36 per nine). Kelly also threw 36 innings last summer on the Cape Cod League, and while his strikeout rate wasn't that impressive (6.75 per nine) he posted a 1.25 ERA and had success with his unconventional release point. Kelly shouldn't be selected until day three, but he could be an interesting choice for a team that values his track record and is excited about an unorthodox reliever profile.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Kelly spent two seasons in James Madison's rotation including a year as the school's Friday starter before the Guardians selected him in the 19th round. The Guardians immediately moved him to the bullpen. His lone pro start is as a two-inning opener, but his time as a college starter has helped him battle and show plenty of guile. Even with a crowded 40-man roster, the Rays liked Kelly enough to pay cash to the Rockies to get the Rockies to pick him for them in the Rule 5 draft.
  
  Scouting Report: Kelly is a sidearmer who rarely dominates, but never gets dominated. There's nothing all that flashy about his low-90s sinker, his four-seam fastball or his sweepy average slider. But hitters rarely square Kelly up, and more often, they end up hitting a grounder off his sinker or slider for weak contact. Like a number of sinker-slider righthanders, he's deadly to righthanded hitters but more vulnerable against lefties, although he can drop over a curve to try to give them something else to worry about.
  
  The Future: The Rays love to give hitters different looks when they go to the bullpen. Kelly fits that perfectly, and he was one of the most MLB-ready pitchers available in the Rule 5 draft as a reliever with more than 30 successful outings at Triple-A.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 55. Curveball: 45. Control: 55.
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Kelly spent two seasons in James Madison's rotation including a year as the school's Friday starter before the Guardians selected him in the 19th round. The Guardians immediately moved him to the bullpen. His lone pro start is as a two-inning opener, but his time as a college starter has helped him battle and show plenty of guile. Even with a crowded 40-man roster, the Rays liked Kelly enough to pay cash to the Rockies to get the Rockies to pick him for them in the Rule 5 draft.
  
  Scouting Report: Kelly is a sidearmer who rarely dominates, but never gets dominated. There's nothing all that flashy about his low-90s sinker, his four-seam fastball or his sweepy average slider. But hitters rarely square Kelly up, and more often, they end up hitting a grounder off his sinker or slider for weak contact. Like a number of sinker-slider righthanders, he's deadly to righthanded hitters but more vulnerable against lefties, although he can drop over a curve to try to give them something else to worry about.
  
  The Future: The Rays love to give hitters different looks when they go to the bullpen. Kelly fits that perfectly, and he was one of the most MLB-ready pitchers available in the Rule 5 draft as a reliever with more than 30 successful outings at Triple-A.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 55. Curveball: 45. Control: 55.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  A 6-foot-2, 210-pound righthander, Kelly has less stuff than most pitchers ranked in the top 500, but thanks to a sidearm delivery and good control, he's created uncomfortable at-bats for hitters over his three-year career in the Colonial Athletic Association. Kelly's fastball sits in the mid-80s and touches 89, and he throws both a slider and a curveball that are below-average. He's posted a 3.54 ERA this spring in 13 starts and 76 innings, with 81 strikeouts (9.5 per nine) and just 20 walks (2.36 per nine). Kelly also threw 36 innings last summer on the Cape Cod League, and while his strikeout rate wasn't that impressive (6.75 per nine) he posted a 1.25 ERA and had success with his unconventional release point. Kelly shouldn't be selected until day three, but he could be an interesting choice for a team that values his track record and is excited about an unorthodox reliever profile.