by phillyOs119
Michael Kelly is the only player to sign a MLB contract with the O’s so far this slow offseason. Despite my relative lack of interest in him, I decided to watch some video and write a short report while waiting for something more interesting to happen.
Michael Kelly – RHP
Background: Kelly was drafted 48th overall in the supplemental 1st round by the Padres out of West Boca Raton HS (FL).
Physical: Kelly is 6’4″ and listed at 185lb, but is probably at least 20-30lb over that number. He is tall, slender but muscular, fairly athletic.
Delivery/Windup: Kelly gets good extension out of a high 3/4 slot. He has a moderately long but smooth arm action and works quickly on the mound. It’s a starters delivery and he maintains his velocity well through starts.
Stuff/Repertoire: Kelly has a basket full of fringe average pitches. He throws what appears to be two fastballs, a 4 seamer that sits 92-94 but he doesn’t throw much and a two seamer that sits 89-91 that he used a lot in the starts I watched. He has two breaking balls, a curveball (74-76) with soft 12-6 break that flashes above average at times but is usually worse and a slider (83-85) that looks just like a tighter curveball, it doesn’t have the sweeping motion most sliders have. He also throws a change-up (80-82) that is average at times but is extremely inconsistent and all-in-all is a below average pitch.
Control/Command: He has decent control, but he wastes pitches too much. His fastball command can be above average at times and he does well when spotting it. He doesn’t command his change-up at all and his command of his breaking pitches is inconsistent.
Summary/Thoughts: Looks like AAA rotation depth, none of the stuff is inspiring. He doesn’t have anything to consistently miss bats at the MLB level and the stuff isn’t sharp enough to live off of weak contact at the next level. He does get good extension and some downward plane on his flat fastballs which allow them to survive on the plate sometimes. He just has trouble putting guys away, which is going to be magnified in the majors. I like him less than Cortes, Ynoa, Mesa Jr., Wright, Hess, Means, and Long.
Grades
2S FB: 45
4S FB: 45
Curve: 45/50
SL: 45
Change: 40
Command/Control: 50
FV: 35 AAA Depth
