Merrill Kelly
35-Year-Old
2024 Stats
W-L
4-0
ERA
4.26
WHIP
1.25
K
44
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
Kelly's ratios were nearly equivalent to his breakthrough 2022 season, but he took a different path to get there. Last season, Kelly fanned a career best 25.9 percent of batters he faced, but he also walked them at a 9.6 percent clip, the highest mark of his career. However, the 16.3 percent K-BB% was his best in a full season. Kelly didn't change his pitch mix much, other than throwing a slider a bit and it was effective. His changeup was offering chiefly driving the increase in strikeouts. Despite posting strong ratios in 2022, Kelly wasn't trusted since he didn't miss many bats. Fast forward a year and Kelly is no longer a secret after fanning well more than a batter an inning and enjoying a strong playoff run. He's likely going to be drafted around 100 picks earlier this season, which puts him in risky territory, since that assumes Kelly continues to punch out hitters at the same rate. Don't shy away from Kelly, but don't expect a repeat of last season's newfound dominance. Read Past Outlooks
Cleared to pitch Monday
Kelly is listed as the Diamondbacks' probable starting pitcher for Monday's game against the Rockies at Coors Field.
ANALYSIS
The right-hander will take his next turn through the rotation on his normal four days' rest, despite exiting his previous start Wednesday against the Rangers after four-plus innings due to right hamstring cramping. Since returning from the injured list Aug. 11 following a prolonged absence due to a teres major strain of his shoulder, Kelly has gone 2-0 with a 5.85 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 23:10 K:BB in 32.1 innings over six starts.
The right-hander will take his next turn through the rotation on his normal four days' rest, despite exiting his previous start Wednesday against the Rangers after four-plus innings due to right hamstring cramping. Since returning from the injured list Aug. 11 following a prolonged absence due to a teres major strain of his shoulder, Kelly has gone 2-0 with a 5.85 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 23:10 K:BB in 32.1 innings over six starts.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
89
Last 10 Games
89
Last 5 Games
88
How many pitches does Merrill Kelly 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 Merrill Kelly 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 2022
-3%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-15%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .225 | 179 | 89 | 171 | 29 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .231 | 229 | 57 | 194 | 22 | |||
2024vs Left | .234 | 18 | 13 | 26 | 6 | |||
2024vs Right | .276 | 26 | 3 | 29 | 4 | |||
2023vs Left | .218 | 90 | 38 | 69 | 11 | |||
2023vs Right | .226 | 97 | 31 | 74 | 9 | |||
2022vs Left | .229 | 71 | 38 | 76 | 12 | |||
2022vs Right | .224 | 106 | 23 | 91 | 9 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-28%
ERA at Home
2024
-32%
ERA at Home
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 2.92 | 1.10 | 231.0 | 9.0 | 2.9 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 4.06 | 1.26 | 204.0 | 7.8 | 3.1 | ||||
2024Home | 3.55 | 1.09 | 33.0 | 6.3 | 2.2 | ||||
2024Away | 5.25 | 1.46 | 24.0 | 7.9 | 3.0 | ||||
2023Home | 2.59 | 1.02 | 93.2 | 10.2 | 3.5 | ||||
2023Away | 4.07 | 1.38 | 84.0 | 8.7 | 3.5 | ||||
2022Home | 3.02 | 1.17 | 104.1 | 8.8 | 2.7 | ||||
2022Away | 3.75 | 1.10 | 96.0 | 7.0 | 2.8 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Merrill Kelly compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 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 120 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 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
2.75K/9
6.9BB/9
2.5HR/9
1.6Fastball
92.0 mphERA
4.26WHIP
1.25BABIP
.278GB/FB
1.16Left On Base
73.7%Exit Velocity
83.5 mphBarrels/BBE
7.3%Spin Rate
2362 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
25.9%Swinging Strike
9.2%Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
This past season may go down as a career year for Kelly, but that's not to say he's unworthy of consideration for 2023. It will just be tough for him to repeat that level of run prevention over 200 innings. When he's on, Kelly can keep hitters guessing with his diverse repertoire -- he throws his four-seamer, changeup, cutter, sinker and curveball all at least 13% of the time. The stuff has not translated to strikeouts since Kelly made the jump from the Korea Baseball Organization years ago (career 20.8 K%), but he limits walks and can induce manageable contact for the defense behind him. Now 34 years old, Kelly may be on the verge of some age-related decline. Add in that he was pitching over his skis last season and Kelly seems likely to be overlooked in many leagues. Be ready to cut bait if the performance craters, but Kelly is very much in the mix to stream in favorable matchups to begin the season.
More Fantasy News
Could start early next week
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Friday that Kelly (hamstring) could start Monday or Tuesday against the Rockies in Colorado, ArizonaSports.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Managing hamstring cramps
Manager Torey Lovullo said Kelly was lifted from Wednesday's start against the Rangers due to right hamstring cramping, but the right-hander is expected to make his next turn through the rotation, Jesse Friedman of GoPHNX.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Exits start with possible cramping
Kelly was removed from Wednesday's start against the Rangers in the fifth inning with an undisclosed injury, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Rebounds with seven quality innings
Kelly did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings against the Giants. He struck out eight.
ANALYSIS
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Greeted by homer barrage
Kelly allowed six runs (four earned) on 10 hits and a walk while striking out one over 5.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Dodgers on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Staying put
Arizona has decided not to deal Kelly, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
ANALYSIS
Kelly is having a breakout season, posting a 2.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and allowing just seven homers in 125.1 innings. The Mets had previously been rumored to be interested in Kelly as he's under contract for two more seasons. The 33-year-old and Zac Gallen could provide a solid 1-2 punch in the Diamondbacks' rotation for the next couple of seasons.
Kelly is having a breakout season, posting a 2.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and allowing just seven homers in 125.1 innings. The Mets had previously been rumored to be interested in Kelly as he's under contract for two more seasons. The 33-year-old and Zac Gallen could provide a solid 1-2 punch in the Diamondbacks' rotation for the next couple of seasons.