Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Potential Rule 5 Draft Selections

Right-handed pitcher Levi Kelly

Levi Kelly was an 8th round pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018. After 6 scoreless innings in 2018 to start his professional career, Kelly had a fantastic 2019 season which put him on prospect maps. In 100.1 innings at Low-A  Kelly posted an ERA of 2.15, WHIP of 1.10, and FIP of 2.80. Kelly was a strikeout machine, striking out 30.9% of all batters faced. He also allowed just 4 home runs for a 0.36 HR/9. He wasn’t a master at command, but a 9.6% walk rate isn’t awful either.

After the 2020 season where there was no minor league ball, Kelly started the2021 season at Double-A. He opened the season as the organization’s 14th best prospect, but his 2021 season wouldn’t go as planned. He only pitched 25 innings, all in relief. He missed a good chunk of time because of an arm injury. When he was pitching, he wasn’t pitching effectively. He allowed 15 earned runs on 16 hits. 3 of those were long balls. He also walked more batters than he struck out with only 27 strikeouts and 28 walks.

Now to say the right-hander doesn’t have talent would be an untrue statement. He has one of the best sliders in the minor leagues. It projects as a 70-grade pitch. Kelly isn’t a flamethrower and averages out around 92-95 MPH with his four-seamer. He’ll also toss a curveball and splitter. Overall, it’s an arsenal that could work as a back-of-the-rotation starter but projects much better as a reliever.

Some of Kelly’s struggles could be chalked up to injury. Kelly would be a fantastic use of the Rule 5 draft. It’s hard to pass up on a guy who has a 70-grade slider. Moving him to the pen would allow him to only focus on one or two other offerings. Plus, the fact he ranks as a top 15 prospect in a system that’s a top 5 system is also notable.