It seems like we have been waiting for a long time for Joe Kelly to harness his potential. Originally coming up with the Cardinals, Kelly had a great year in 2013 and even appeared in the World Series against the Red Sox and pitched an impressive game. The next season, he was part of the return when the Red Sox dealt John Lackey to St. Louis. Neither Kelly nor Allen Craig made an immediate impact however.
Boston eventually gave up on Craig but they kept Kelly around, hoping that his talent would eventually come around and he could be a decent starting pitcher. He was shuffled back and forth to the minors a couple of times to work on his command and eventually managed to win 10 games in 2015, albeit with a 4.82 ERA. In 2016, Boston started using him more in the bullpen and things started to fall together.
The Red Sox gave up on trying to make Kelly a starter altogether in 2017 and Kelly responded with his best season since being traded to Boston. Kelly was primarily a middle reliever though he finished 14 games out of his 54 appearances, though he did not pick up a save. He did notch 13 holds. Kelly finished the season 4-1 with a sparkling 2.79 ERA and struck out 52 while walking 27 in 58 innings.
Joe Kelly helped to solidify the Boston pen in 2017 between the starters and Craig Kimbrel, who had a monster season. Having a decent arm in the bullpen helps enormously and Boston had several good ones.
The Cardinals young staff of Shelby Miller, Michael Waccha, and Joe Kelly hurt the Pirates chances to further advance in the postseason. I'm happy that Kelly found success (away from the NL Central)
ReplyDelete