Merrill Kelly

Merrill Kelly whiffs five over two innings in Cactus League start on Monday

Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly allowed two runs on one hit while striking out five and walking one over two innings in his Cactus League debut on Monday vs. the Brewers.

Fantasy Impact

Kelly ran into some trouble in the first inning as he walked Billy McKinney before serving up a two-run shot to Manny Pina. He did strike out five over his two innings of work, though, and his velocity looked good. His fastball topped out at around 93 mph, which is encouraging as Kelly underwent thoracic outlet surgery last season after a blood clot developed in his pitching shoulder. The 32-year-old was rolling through his first five starts in 2020--although the underlying metrics aren't as kind--as he finished with a 2.59 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 29:5 K/BB ratio over 31 1/3 innings. He's a name to remember in the later rounds of fantasy drafts but he doesn't have a lot of upside.