Kenneth Merrill Kelly (born October 14, 1988) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut on April 1, 2019. Kelly formerly played for the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are ...

Early life and education

Kelly attended Desert Mountain High School in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

. The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

selected Kelly in the 37th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, but he did not sign a contract. He attended Yavapai College. After playing

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at Yavapai for two years, the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

took him in the 22nd round of the 2009 MLB draft, but again, he did not sign. He transferred to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

, where he played for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of ...

in 2010.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

The

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

selected Kelly in the eighth round (251st overall) of the

2010 MLB draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

. Kelly advanced about one minor league level each season, beginning his career at Low-A in 2010 and reaching Triple-A for the first time in 2013. He split his first professional season between the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

and the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which op ...

. He was 8-7 with a 3.28 ERA for the 2011

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB ...

. He had an 8–3 record and a 3.57 ERA for the 2012

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League. The team was found ...

after being used primarily in relief. In 2013, he went 13–8 with 111 strikeouts and a 3.64 ERA in 28 games (26 starts) for the Biscuits and Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened i ...

. He allowed only 128 hits in 158 1/3 innings. He was a non-roster invitee to 2014 spring training, but did not make the Opening Day roster. He pitched the 2014 season for Durham, going 9–4 with a 2.76 ERA, but remained in the minor leagues.

SK Wyverns

Kelly signed with the

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and K ...

(KBO) ahead of the 2015 season. Through 4 seasons, with SK Wyverns, Kelly pitched to a 48–32 record and a 3.86 ERA. He won the 2018 Korean Series with SK Wyverns. In Game 3 of the series, he pitched seven innings allowing two runs to earn the win. He became a free agent after the 2018 season.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 4, 2018, the MLB Arizona Diamondbacks signed Kelly to a two-year major league contract. On April 1, 2019, Kelly made his major league debut in a start versus the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He earned a win and recorded a

quality start In baseball, a quality start is a statistic for a starting pitcher defined as a game in which the pitcher completes at least six innings and permits no more than three earned runs. The quality start has effectively replaced the 'complete game' as ...

by totaling six innings, while allowing three runs and striking out three. In his first season with Arizona, Kelly led the National league in losses with 14 but led the team in wins (13) and innings (). Kelly began the 2020 season in the rotation before being shut down on September 1 after 5 starts due to a shoulder injury. He returned healthy in 2021 but posted a 7–11 record over 27 starts on a Diamondbacks squad that lost 110 games. On April 1, 2022, Kelly signed a two-year, $18 million contract extension with the Diamondbacks. He started the 2022 season with a 15-inning scoreless streak, three short of the franchise record to begin a season. Kelly won the National League Pitcher of the Month Award for July 2022 after pitching to a 1.31 ERA in six starts. He also won the National League Player of the Week Award for the week of July 25–July 31.

International career

On October 6, 2022, Kelly announced that he would represent the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...

in the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

. He started for the United States in the

championship game In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

against Japan and was credited with the loss.

Personal life

Kelly's wife Bre gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Hadley, in February 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Merrill 1988 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from Houston Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Durham Bulls players Hudson Valley Renegades players KBO League pitchers Leones del Escogido players Major League Baseball pitchers Montgomery Biscuits players Salt River Rafters players SSG Landers players Yavapai Roughriders baseball players 2023 World Baseball Classic players