2024 Stats
W-L
5-1
ERA
4.03
WHIP
1.17
K
63
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
D-backs pick up option
The Diamondbacks exercised Kelly's $7 million club option for 2025 on Saturday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
ANALYSIS
After missing a four-month chunk of the season due to a shoulder injury, Kelly finished 2024 with a 4.03 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 73.2 innings over 13 starts. Hopeful for a bounce-back campaign in 2025, the D-backs will keep the 36-year-old righty around to bolster a pitching staff that ranked 27th in the majors with a 4.62 ERA.
After missing a four-month chunk of the season due to a shoulder injury, Kelly finished 2024 with a 4.03 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 73.2 innings over 13 starts. Hopeful for a bounce-back campaign in 2025, the D-backs will keep the 36-year-old righty around to bolster a pitching staff that ranked 27th in the majors with a 4.62 ERA.
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
88
Last 10 Games
88
Last 5 Games
83
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
-1%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-6%
BAA vs LHP
| BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2022vs Left | .225 | 184 | 92 | 178 | 29 | |||
| Since 2022vs Right | .228 | 243 | 57 | 199 | 23 | |||
| 2024vs Left | .234 | 23 | 16 | 33 | 6 | |||
| 2024vs Right | .250 | 40 | 3 | 34 | 5 | |||
| 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
-22%
ERA at Home
2024
-8%
ERA on Road
| ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2022Home | 3.04 | 1.11 | 236.2 | 9.1 | 2.9 | ||||
| Since 2022Away | 3.89 | 1.22 | 215.0 | 7.9 | 3.1 | ||||
| 2024Home | 4.19 | 1.16 | 38.2 | 7.2 | 2.1 | ||||
| 2024Away | 3.86 | 1.17 | 35.0 | 8.2 | 2.6 | ||||
| 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
3.32K/9
7.7BB/9
2.3HR/9
1.3Fastball
92.1 mphERA
4.03WHIP
1.17BABIP
.279GB/FB
1.26Left On Base
72.2%Exit Velocity
83.7 mphBarrels/BBE
6.9%Spin Rate
2349 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
26.2%Swinging Strike
9.4%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
Takes first loss
Kelly (5-1) allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out eight over 5.2 innings Friday, taking the loss versus the Padres.
ANALYSIS
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Dealing with calf cramp
Kelly was removed from Saturday's game against the Brewers due to a right calf cramp.
ANALYSIS
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Leaves with apparent cramping
Kelly left Saturday's game against the Brewers after five innings with an apparent injury, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
ANALYSIS
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Solid outing in no decision
Kelly came away with a no decision in Monday's loss to the Rockies. He allowed one run on two hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out five.
ANALYSIS
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Cleared to pitch Monday
Kelly is listed as the Diamondbacks' probable starting pitcher for Monday's game against the Rockies at Coors Field.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could be dealt
According to Will Sammon and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, Kelly could be a trade chip for the Diamondbacks this offseason.
ANALYSIS
Arizona is receiving trade interest in its starting pitchers, and Kelly is a logical option to be dealt since he's in the final year of his contract. The right-hander was limited to 13 starts in 2024 due to a shoulder injury and had a 4.03 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 63:19 K:BB over 73.2 innings.
Arizona is receiving trade interest in its starting pitchers, and Kelly is a logical option to be dealt since he's in the final year of his contract. The right-hander was limited to 13 starts in 2024 due to a shoulder injury and had a 4.03 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 63:19 K:BB over 73.2 innings.