Antwone Kelly has been one of the more promising pitchers in the lower levels of the Pittsburgh Pirates system.
Originally signed by the Pirates in January 2021 out of Aruba, Kelly is pitching in Single-A Bradenton this year in his age-20 season. The right-hander has a 3.81 ERA in 54.1 innings, with 54 strikeouts and a 1.21 WHIP. Standing at 5′ 10″, 183 pounds, Kelly doesn’t have a projectable frame, but already features impressive velocity and stuff.
What stands out from Kelly is a mid-90s fastball that can touch 97-98 MPH. He also has quality secondary stuff, led by a cutter and changeup. After a slow start this year, Kelly has been on fire since the beginning of May. He has a 2.01 ERA in 40.1 innings over his last seven starts, capped off by 5.2 shutout innings earlier this week.
In his last five starts, Kelly has a 1.37 ERA in 26.1 innings, with 29 strikeouts and seven walks. I broke down his stuff across those outings to see what is working so well for him. The results below are the averages from each of Kelly’s pitches between May 22nd and June 18th.
Fastball
Pitches: 163
Avg. Velo: 94.4 MPH
Avg. Spin: 2290 RPM
Whiff: 22.4%
CSW: 27.0%
