Rafael Kelly
| IP | 249 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 3.614 |
| WHIP | 1.197 |
| BB/9 | 2.53 |
| SO/9 | 8.349 |
- Full name Rafael Antonio Kelly
- Born 06/09/1997 in Samana, Dominican Republic
- Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 190 / Bats: R / Throws: R
Top Rankings
Minor League Top Prospects
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Often overlooked in a deep Oakland farm system, Kelly is beginning to come into view as a future prospect for the Athletics' bullpen. After posting a 2.48 ERA across two levels in 2017, the Dominican native struggled a bit with his command and also struck out less than a batter per inning this season in the New York-Penn League. Kelly has a lot of arm strength, but he is still considered to be quite raw. His two-seam fastball touches the mid-90s but comfortably sits 92-93 mph with sink. Power over pitchability summarizes Kelly, and he also features a slider with good sink. The slider is a developing pitch, however, as Kelly tends to get on the side of it, which causes the pitch to flatten on occasion. "The arm works good, and hitters do not take any comfortable at-bats against this guy", noted one scout who saw him this season. Like many younger pitchers, he still needs to iron out some command issues. His aggressive mentality and developing fastball-slider combination will make him an exciting option out of the bullpen in the future.
