Zack Kelly showing his 'nasty' changeup, proving he belongs at the major league level
The Red Sox have a handful of pitchers who possess a devastating changeup. Michael Wacha and Garrett Whitlock have showcased their changeup at an elite level this season.
You can now add right-handed reliever Zack Kelly to the list of pitchers with a changeup that teammates are raving about.
“That changeup is something else,” said Red Sox catcher Connor Wong to MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “I haven’t had to hit against it but I can only imagine. Some of the swings he gets on that thing are just unreal. So I can imagine it’s a nightmare at the plate.”
Kelly has pitched in nine games for the Red Sox. Over those nine games, he has allowed three runs, opponents are hitting .182 against him in 9 2/3 innings.
Kelly has thrown his changeup 40.8% of the time since his call-up. He’s struck out 5-of-the-8 batters he’s faced.
The Roanoke native has been utilizing a consistent fastball-changeup mix. There’s a 12.8 mph difference between the two pitches. When throwing his “nasty’ changeup, opponents have a .149 expected batting average and .178 expected slugging percentage against it, per Baseball Savant.
“It’s always been kind of my pitch,” Kelly said. “I’ve been able to obviously get swings-and-misses with it. I’m able to get back into counts with it. And it just keeps guys off balance because it’s so slow.”
If Kelly can throw his changeup like both Wacha and Whitlock, he will prove he has staying power at the major league level. With only 11 games left, Kelly will have a chance to continue to show to the front office and Cora he belongs in Boston.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.