Joe Kelly

Joe Kelly

34-Year-Old PitcherRP
Chicago White Sox
2023 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Joe Kelly in 2023. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
RANKS
#600
ADP
$Signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the White Sox in March of 2022. Contract includes $9.5 million team option ($1 million buyout) for 2024.
Back with team
PChicago White Sox
September 24, 2022
Kelly was reinstated from the family medical leave list Saturday.
ANALYSIS
Kelly had been away from the team since Sunday. His return will push Tanner Banks back to the minors. Kelly hasn't given up a run in any of his last five appearances, but that's only served to bring his ERA down to 6.42.
Read More News
Pitching Stats
Loading Pitching Stats...
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2022 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Loading Pitching Game Log...
2021 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Loading Pitching Game Log...
2020 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Loading Pitching Game Log...
2019 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Loading Pitching Game Log...
2018 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Loading Pitching Game Log...
2017 MLB Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Scoring
FanDuel
DraftKings
Yahoo DFS
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Loading Pitching Game Log...
Minor League Game Log
Calculate Stats Over Time
Just click on any two dates.
Loading Minor League Pitching Game Log...
Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
16
Last 10 Games
17
Last 5 Games
15
How many pitches does Joe 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+
 
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+
 
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 Joe Kelly generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
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 2020
Even Split
2022
 
 
-9%
BAA vs LHP
2021
 
 
-9%
BAA vs RHP
2020
Even Split
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2020vs Left .213 177 51 18 33 11 0 2
Since 2020vs Right .213 217 61 27 39 8 1 3
2022vs Left .239 79 27 10 16 4 0 1
2022vs Right .263 91 26 13 20 5 0 1
2021vs Left .183 81 20 8 13 5 0 1
2021vs Right .167 101 30 7 15 2 1 2
2020vs Left .235 17 4 0 4 2 0 0
2020vs Right .235 25 5 7 4 1 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-53%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-74%
ERA on Road
2021
 
 
-14%
ERA at Home
2020
 
 
-100%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2020Home 5.70 1.34 42.2 3 2 3 12.2 4.6 1.1
Since 2020Away 2.66 1.23 47.1 0 1 0 10.1 4.2 0.0
2022Home 11.05 2.11 14.2 1 2 1 12.3 6.8 1.2
2022Away 2.82 1.25 22.1 0 1 0 13.3 4.8 0.0
2021Home 2.66 0.85 23.2 2 0 2 12.2 3.4 1.1
2021Away 3.10 1.13 20.1 0 0 0 8.0 2.7 0.0
2020Home 4.15 1.38 4.1 0 0 0 12.5 4.2 0.0
2020Away 0.00 1.50 4.2 0 0 0 3.9 7.7 0.0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Joe Kelly compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 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 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
2.30
 
K/9
12.9
 
BB/9
5.6
 
HR/9
0.5
 
Fastball
97.9 mph
 
ERA
6.08
 
WHIP
1.59
 
BABIP
.398
 
GB/FB
3.69
 
Left On Base
58.7%
 
Exit Velocity
79.3 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
1.4%
 
Spin Rate
2567 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
18.4%
 
Swinging Strike
13.5%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
Loading Advanced Pitching Stats...
Defensive Stats
Loading MLB Defensive Stats...
Stats Vs Today's Lineup
Want more matchup stats?
Loading Matchup Stats...
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Subscribe Now
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Joe Kelly See More
Collette Calls: My AL Tout Wars Team
2 days ago
Jason Collette breaks down his AL Tout Wars roster, which features Mariners phenom Julio Rodriguez leading the way.
Mound Musings: A Look at Pitching in the AL Central
21 days ago
Brad Johnson breaks down the pitching situations in the AL Central, starting in Chicago where Johnson expects Lucas Giolito to have a bounce-back season.
Closer Encounters: 2023 Closer Rankings
49 days ago
Ryan Rufe shares his 2023 closer rankings and breaks down his favorite targets as well as the relievers he's avoiding.
Closer Encounters: Closer Infirmary Adds Another
268 days ago
Ryan Rufe breaks down the latest closer news around the league, with one of the top closers of this generation landing on the injured list and another nearing a return.
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
270 days ago
Erik Siegrist scopes out the waiver options in the AL as top Rays prospect Josh Lowe gets another shot at proving he's ready to handle big-league pitching.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
A shoulder injury delayed Kelly's 2021 debut until early May. He went on to record the best season of his career, setting personals bests in strikeout and walk rates. A fortunate .227 BABIP played a part as well. Kelly's season ended prematurely in the playoffs with a sore biceps. Kelly has often worked in high leverage scenarios but isn't consistent or durable enough to serve as a team's full-time closer. That isn't likely to change after signing with the White Sox, which already have Liam Hendriks and Craig Kimbrel as closer options, with Kendall Graveman waiting in the wings.
In his second outing, Kelly threw dangerously close to Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa, drawing an eight-game suspension for instigating a benches-clearing scuffle between the 2017 World Series combatants. Kelly appealed and made five more appearances before being placed on the IL with shoulder soreness. At the time, had yet to surrender a run in 6.1 innings, but with only five strikeouts against five walks. While convalescing, Kelly's suspension was reduced to five games. He returned in mid-September to hurl 3.2 frames, giving up his first two runs while whiffing four with two walks. Kelly has one year left on his contract, so he'll be back with the Dodgers in some capacity. Kenley Jansen is showing signs of decline, but Kelly is no longer next in line. With a drop in velocity along with his K% and BB% heading in the wrong direction, Kelly could be stuck in the middle innings.
Kelly's tenure with Los Angeles started in about the worst way possible, with the right-hander blowing three leads and taking two losses in his first five appearances in Dodger Blue. He was better from there, though the Dodgers had to take measures to limit Kelly down the stretch in the regular season due to poor "overall body" health. While Kelly did end up pitching in the NLCS, he struggled to the tune of six earned runs in 2.1 innings. There were some positives from his 2019 body of work: Kelly lifted his K-rate to a career-high 27.4% while trimming his walk rate to 9.7%. He was one of the most prolific groundball relievers in the game with a GB rate north of 61%, but unfortunately for Kelly, a quarter of the balls that got up left the yard (25% HR/FB). The contract isn't looking great, but Kelly still throws 98 mph and the team will be looking to him to fill a key piece in the bridge to Kenley Jansen.
Kelly endured a roller-coaster 2018 campaign. The flamethrower allowed four runs and recorded just one out in his season debut (in late March) but responded by not allowing a run in April (0.53 WHIP, 10:1 K:BB in 11.1 innings). Kelly's inconsistency continued, as the right-hander posted an ERA north of 8.30 in three of the following months (June, July and September) while keeping his ERA below 1.50 in the other three months (May, August and October), including a 0.79 ERA and 13:0 K:BB across 11.1 playoff frames for the eventual World Series champions. While the 30-year-old saw a jump in his strikeout rate, his 9.3 K/9 still seems somewhat disappointing for a late-inning arm with a 98.5 mph average fastball. Kelly appears primed to serve as Kenley Jansen's top setup man after signing a three-year, $25 million deal with the Dodgers in free agency.
Kelly was coming off of what was arguably the worst statistical season of his career in 2016 (5.18 ERA over 40 innings), but the veteran reliever twirled a dominant final month of the season which helped establish him as one of Boston's more reliable relief arms heading into 2018 campaign. After some offseason mechanical adjustments, Kelly saw his fastball velocity significantly increase to a blistering average of 99 mph. Unfortunately, this uptick in velocity didn't correlate to better strikeout numbers, as his strikeout rate actually fell nearly four percentage points to a very pedestrian 21.9 percent rate. His walk rate remained high (11.3 percent), but he was able to greatly suppress his home-run rate en route to a 2.79 ERA (3.49 FIP) over 58 innings of relief. Despite his improvements, Kelly's still a middle reliever with strikeout and command issues -- that isn't a very appealing combination in fantasy.
Joe Kelly teased the Red Sox in 2016 with his high-90s fastball but would often lose his mechanics, missing the strike zone, and failed to use his secondary pitches enough. In six starts, he had an ERA of 8.46 while giving up 31 hits and 19 walks in 22.1 innings. He was demoted to Triple-A Pawtucket, where the organization decided to transition him to a reliever, a role for which many in MLB thought he was best suited. He took to it quite well, posting a 0.56 ERA in 13 appearances with the PawSox. Kelly continued to be effective when called up in September, putting up a 0.64 ERA while striking out 20 and walking three in 14 innings for Boston to close out the season. He added three scoreless and hitless postseason frames against the Indians. Manager John Farrell attributed his success to an improved slider. His dominant finish to the season sealed Kelly's fate as a full-time, mid-to-late-inning reliever in 2017.
Kelly has intoxicating velocity that keeps him interesting even as he continues to pile up mediocre results. He looked good in 2012-13, but his best work was done in the bullpen while he lucked into good results as a starter despite a 1.6 K/BB ratio in 31 starts. He's been a full-time starter since and the mediocrity has shown itself clearly with a 4.57 ERA and 1.9 K/BB ratio in 231 innings. His best secondary pitch is a changeup that helps him neutralize lefties with just a 29-point platoon split. The problem is that he just allows too much contact leaving him open to variance like the .274 to .320 BABIP jump we saw in 2015. Further exacerbating the issue is that his strikeout pitch - the slider - gets lit up any time it doesn't generate a strikeout (.908 OPS, 33% K rate since 2014). There are some intriguing elements, but his MLB work marries well with his minor league track record so it's hard to project a major jump for him as a starter.
Kelly posted a 2.69 ERA over 37 appearances – 15 starts – in 2013 and opened last season as the Cardinals' fifth starter. There were red flags, particularly with his strikeout and walk rates, as Kelly's xFIP in 2013 (4.19) indicated that a sub-3.00 simply wasn't sustainable. That proved to be true, and while Kelly pitched reasonably well, he was sidelined after three starts by a hamstring injury that kept him out of action for three months. Upon his return, he was hit hard and then traded to Boston in the John Lackey deal. With Boston's starting rotation decimated by trades and the team relying on young starting prospects, the 26-year-old Kelly became the team's No. 2 starter. Even with the offseason changes in the rotation, Kelly is expected to begin the year with one of the five starting spots. He may be ideally suited for the bullpen, where his fastball will have even more velocity (he averaged 94.7 mph on the pitch in 2014) and he won't have to rely as much on his secondary offerings.
Kelly started the season as a long-relief arm out of the bullpen before getting a shot in the rotation at the start of July. Kelly took the opportunity and ran with it, posting an 11-2 record with a 2.32 ERA over his final 14 starts. Despite an excellent showing in the rotation for the Cardinals, Kelly's role for the start of 2014 is murky. The Cardinals have a talented group of young arms to put behind ace Adam Wainwright and Kelly is a good bet to make the rotation next season, but it's far from a guarantee that he will stick if he ends up solidifying a spot when spring training breaks in March.
Kelly started 16 games for the Cardinals last year and threw eight in relief, where he was far more successful. In 91.1 innings as a starter, he had a respectable 3.74 ERA but a not-as-respectable 1.41 WHIP and 59:32 K:BB. Meanwhile, as a reliever, he threw 15.2 innings and finished with a 2.30 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 16:4 K:BB ratio. Naturally, the Cardinals are planning on using him as a starter this year. He's still just 24, and has room to grow, but it would be nice to see the K:BB ratio improve a bit before throwing him into the rotation for good.
More Fantasy News
To family medical list
PChicago White Sox
Personal
September 18, 2022
Kelly was placed on the family medical leave list Sunday.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Starting Friday
PChicago White Sox
September 2, 2022
Kelly will start Friday's game against the Twins, LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Moves past knee issue
PChicago White Sox
August 31, 2022
Kelly (knee) gave up a run on one hit while pitching the eighth inning of Tuesday's 9-7 loss to the Royals.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Exits with knee injury
PChicago White Sox
Knee
August 27, 2022
Kelly left Saturday's appearance with a bruised left knee, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.
Available Monday
PChicago White Sox
August 15, 2022
Kelly (illness) is available out of the bullpen Monday against the Astros, Scot Gregor of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.
ANALYSIS
Subscribe now to instantly reveal our take on this news.