Weekly Update: Joe Kelly

[samscherer]

Joe Kelly finally made his return to the mound this weekend in Colorado after missing a month with a vague shoulder injury and a 5-game suspension, and boy, did he look good.

With Joe Kelly, sometimes, there is, uh, a “lack of command of his pitches,” and that’s putting it generously. While he’s usually effectively wild, he was pumping the zone and hitting all his spots with both his 100 mph fastball and nasty breaking ball. He pitched to one batter in one game and had a very quick inning in the next game (3 outs in fewer than 10 pitches, I believe).

It’s so nice to see Kelly throwing strikes and not looking as if he has no idea where his pitches are going. Again, while that often works, it’s stressful to watch and doesn’t usually fare well in large sample sizes. Kelly looked like the Joe Kelly in the 2018 Red Sox postseason bullpen, who was absolutely lights out and earned his contract with the Dodgers.

If we can get that Joe Kelly, and so far it looks as if we have, we’re going to be able to add an experienced weapon into the best bullpen in baseball. It certainly bodes well for. October.