Merrill Kelly Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 2" / 202 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 10/14/1988 (35)
- Experience
- 5
- College
- Arizona State
Merrill Kelly Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Merrill Kelly News
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly continued his stellar spring during Monday's game against the Oakland Athletics. The right-hander threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and striking out seven batters. The 35-year-old hasn't allowed a run in two of his first three outings this spring. The hope is that these outings carry over into the regular season. Kelly should continue to climb up draft boards if he keeps pitching like he has lately.
Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly gave up two runs on five hits in three innings during his second appearance of spring training on Wednesday, striking out four batters in a 7-5 Cactus League loss to the division-rival Colorado Rockies. Kelly is still off to a fine start this spring, despite Wednesday's mixed bag, turning in a 3.60 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with seven punchouts over five frames in two showings. The 35-year-old right-hander was a workhorse for the D-backs in 2023, tossing 177 2/3 innings (30 starts) for a rock-solid 3.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 187:69 K:BB. Although he doesn't carry particularly high upside, Kelly is a relatively safe fantasy bet at his 148.7 Yahoo ADP this spring and will face these same Rockies during Arizona's first series of the regular season in late March.
Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen is scheduled to make his first spring Cactus League start on March 1 against the Cincinnati Reds, while right-hander Merrill Kelly will make his first start on March 8 against the Chicago Cubs. Including the playoffs, Gallen and Kelly threw 243 2/3 and 201 2/3 innings, respectively, in 2023. Kelly took some time off in the offseason before getting back to his training regiment that included range-of-motion exercises, according to manager Torey Lovullo. Because of the big workloads in their run to the World Series last year, the D-backs will make sure to take it easy on both pitchers this spring. Gallen is a low-end No. 1 fantasy starter, while Kelly profiles as more of a No. 4 to round out your fantasy rotation.
Batting Order
1 | Corbin Carroll |
2 | Ketel Marte |
3 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. |
4 | Christian Walker |
5 | Joc Pederson |
6 | Eugenio Suárez |
7 | Alek Thomas |
8 | Tucker Barnhart |
9 | Geraldo Perdomo |
Merrill Kelly Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
1 | Corbin Carroll |
2 | Ketel Marte |
3 | Lourdes Gurriel Jr. |
4 | Christian Walker |
5 | Joc Pederson |
6 | Eugenio Suárez |
7 | Alek Thomas |
8 | Tucker Barnhart |
9 | Geraldo Perdomo |
Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly once again started 30 games in 2023, totaling 177 2/3 innings with a 12-8 record and 3.29 ERA. More importantly, in his age-34 season, Kelly saw an uptick in strikeouts, with a career-high 25.9 K% compared to 22.0 K% in 2022. A significant factor in this increase in strikeouts should be credited to his high 32.9 chase% compared to his 29.9 chase% the year prior. A look under the hood shows that his changeup was effective in 2023. This pitch generated a 32% whiff rate in 2023 compared to 28.0% in 2022. In addition, it produced a minuscule .234 SLG, while in 2022, it produced a hefty .361 SLG. While his overall average exit velocity of 89.6 mph was below average, it is encouraging to see a 34-year-old find untapped strikeout numbers this late in his career. Kelly will provide a stable option as a starter over the long course of the season that is not common in baseball today. He may not be why you win your league, but I doubt he will lose it, and a few extra punchouts along the way are an unexpected plus. ATC projects Kelly to start 29 games with 11 wins and a higher 3.94 ERA, making him a solid pick at his current NFBC ADP of 152.