His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kelly's sinker averages 98.2 mph, and has touched 100.3.
162 thrown, 29.3% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kelly's sinker moves 120.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
162 thrown, averaging 98.2 mph.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kelly averages 93.8 mph across his arsenal, 95th percentile in the league.
552 pitches in 2024. 95th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 37th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kelly's knuckle curve leaves the bat at 97.9 mph, against 83.6 off his sinker.
98 and 162 of them thrown.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kelly releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 29 degrees above horizontal and 1.6 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
552 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kelly goes to the slider: 29.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 18.4% the rest of the time.
167 two-strike pitches in 2024.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kelly lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
552 located pitches in 2024.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kelly's knuckle curve spins at 3,006 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
98 thrown in 2024.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kelly's 4-seam fastball carries 13.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
134 thrown, averaging 98.1 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kelly throws a fastball 64.4% of the time, against 50.3% when he is ahead.
163 pitches behind in the count, 167 ahead.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kelly's stuff spins at 2,456 rpm, 84th percentile in the league.
552 pitches in 2024. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 120th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kelly throws the sinker 42.3% of the time against right-handers and 17.2% against left-handers.
267 pitches to right-handers, 285 to left-handers.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kelly lands 54.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.8% of his breaking balls.
296 of his fastballs, 218 of his breaking balls.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
43% of the contact Kelly gives up is hit hard, 27th percentile.
552 pitches in 2024. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 564th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kelly works with 5 pitches: Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Knuckle Curve, and a little else. The sinker is 29.3% of everything he throws.
552 classified pitches in 2024.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Kelly lives in the strike zone: 47.3% of his pitches are in it, 66th percentile.
552 pitches in 2024. 66th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 259th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Kelly releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
552 tracked pitches in 2024.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Kelly projects a .341 average, 29th percentile.
552 pitches in 2024. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 547th in MLB.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Kelly throws a strike on the first pitch 58.6% of the time.
140 plate appearances started in 2024.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.9 mph separates Kelly's sinker from his knuckle curve, 98.2 against 87.3.
162 and 98 of them respectively.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kelly puts 52.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 47.3% when he is ahead.
163 located pitches behind, 167 ahead.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kelly's sinker averages 98.2 mph, and has touched 100.3.
162 thrown, 29.3% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kelly's knuckle curve leaves the bat at 97.9 mph, against 83.6 off his sinker.
98 and 162 of them thrown.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kelly's knuckle curve spins at 3,006 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
98 thrown in 2024.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kelly throws the sinker 42.3% of the time against right-handers and 17.2% against left-handers.
267 pitches to right-handers, 285 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kelly works with 5 pitches: Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Knuckle Curve, and a little else. The sinker is 29.3% of everything he throws.
552 classified pitches in 2024.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.9 mph separates Kelly's sinker from his knuckle curve, 98.2 against 87.3.
162 and 98 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kelly's sinker moves 120.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
162 thrown, averaging 98.2 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kelly's 4-seam fastball carries 13.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
134 thrown, averaging 98.1 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Kelly averages 93.8 mph across his arsenal, 95th percentile in the league.
552 pitches in 2024. 95th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 37th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kelly releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 29 degrees above horizontal and 1.6 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
552 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Kelly releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
552 tracked pitches in 2024.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kelly goes to the slider: 29.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 18.4% the rest of the time.
167 two-strike pitches in 2024.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kelly throws a fastball 64.4% of the time, against 50.3% when he is ahead.
163 pitches behind in the count, 167 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Kelly throws a strike on the first pitch 58.6% of the time.
140 plate appearances started in 2024.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kelly puts 52.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 47.3% when he is ahead.
163 located pitches behind, 167 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kelly lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
552 located pitches in 2024.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kelly's stuff spins at 2,456 rpm, 84th percentile in the league.
552 pitches in 2024. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 120th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kelly lands 54.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.8% of his breaking balls.
296 of his fastballs, 218 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
43% of the contact Kelly gives up is hit hard, 27th percentile.
552 pitches in 2024. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 564th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Kelly projects a .341 average, 29th percentile.
552 pitches in 2024. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 547th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Kelly lives in the strike zone: 47.3% of his pitches are in it, 66th percentile.
552 pitches in 2024. 66th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2024, 259th in MLB.
Red Sox
Career team 2014–2018