Casey Kelly

Casey Patrick Kelly (born October 4, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization. He was a first-round draft choice, 30th overall, in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the Boston Red Sox. He was the top minor league prospect in the Red Sox organization when he was acquired by the San Diego Padres after the 2010 season, along with three other prospects, in exchange for All-Star player Adrian Gonzalez. He made his major league debut with San Diego in 2012, but underwent Tommy John surgery the following year. He was traded to Atlanta after the 2015 season.

Draft

Kelly was drafted in the first round, 30th overall, in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the Boston Red Sox. He was drafted as a pitcher, though he wanted to play shortstop. Kelly was also offered a scholarship to play football for the University of Tennessee, as he was a two-time regional player of the year as a quarterback at Sarasota High School. Kelly chose baseball over football and signed with the Red Sox for a $3 million signing bonus, $700,000 more than the sixth player in the draft received.

Boston Red Sox

Kelly played the first half of the 2009 season with the Greenville Drive and Salem Red Sox as a pitcher. He was elected to the All-Star Futures Game. He finished the second half of season as a shortstop. On December 8, 2009, Kelly announced his decision to continue his career as a full-time pitcher. He had hit .222 while striking out 27 percent of the time, while he had a 6–1 record with a 1.12 ERA pitching with Class A Greenville.

Kelly played for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in 2010, posting a 5.31 ERA in 21 starts. In 2010 mid-season minor league prospect rankings, Kelly was ranked #10 by ESPN and #24 by Baseball America.

Kelly's first game in the Major Leagues in 2012

San Diego Padres

On December 6, 2010, Kelly was traded along with Anthony Rizzo, Reymond Fuentes, and Eric Patterson to the San Diego Padres for three-time All-Star first baseman Gonzalez. Kelly was considered the top prospect in the Red Sox organization. Entering the 2011 season, he was ranked 22 among the Top 50 Prospects by MLB.com. The Padres invited Kelly as a non-roster player to their Major League camp for 2011 Spring Training. The top prospect in the Padres' Minor League system, Kelly opened the 2011 regular season in Double-A with the San Antonio Missions. He put up a 3.98 ERA with 105 strike-outs in 27 starts and 142 1⁄₃ innings with San Antonio.

Kelly strained his elbow in his second start for Triple-A Tucson in April 2012. He started his rehabilitation with the rookie-league Arizona League Padres in July and then started three games for San Antonio. He was promoted to the Major Leagues to replace the injured Jason Marquis in San Diego's starting rotation. Kelly earned a win after pitching six shutout innings in a 3–0 victory over the Atlanta Braves in his Major League debut on August 27, 2012. He also recorded his first major league hit in the game. Kelly was the 15th different starting pitcher used by the Padres in 2012, which ties a club record. Kelly made six starts for the Padres in 2012, going 2-3 with a 6.21 ERA.

On March 22, 2013, it was announced that Kelly had micro tears in his UCL. He underwent Tommy John surgery on April 2 and was placed on the team's disabled list. He began throwing again in September and was still considered a premium prospect coming into 2014.

Kelly came back from injury in 2014 but only appeared in a couple of starts in the minors. In 2015, Kelly was converted into a reliever, appearing in 20 games, 6 starts in AA before being called up to the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Padres AAA minor league affiliate.

Atlanta Braves

On December 10, 2015, the Padres traded Casey Kelly and Ricardo Rodriguez to the Atlanta Braves for Christian Bethancourt. Kelly was assigned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves, and recalled to the major leagues on April 20, 2016. Three days later, he was optioned to Gwinnett. He was recalled once again in May to make his first start with the Braves, giving up three runs in five innings in a 5–0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. On July 2, 2016, he was optioned to AAA Gwinnett. He was outrighted on November 2, 2016.

Chicago Cubs

On January 27, 2017, Kelly signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs and was invited to spring training.

Awards

• 2008 Louisville Slugger Pre-Season High School First Team All-American
• Mr. Baseball Florida 2008
• Florida 6A Player of the Year 2008
• Red Sox ML Pitcher of the Month (April 2009)
• Carolina League Player of the Week (June 1–7, 2009)
• South Atlantic League All-Star (2009)
• Futures Game All-Star (2009)
• Carolina League Player of the Week (June 22–28, 2009)
• 2009 Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year
• 2010 Portland Sea Dogs Pitcher of the Year

• ^ Norcross, Don (March 11, 2011). "Kelly and Rizzo off to impressive starts for Padres". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 21, 2011. 
• Benjamin, Amalie (December 8, 2009). "Sox prospect Kelly decides to focus on pitching". The Boston Globe. 
• Andrews, Mike (July 22, 2010). "In Portland, Casey Kelly's making strides". ESPN.com. SoxProspects.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. 
• Manuel, John (July 9, 2010). "Midseason Updated Top 25 Prospects". Baseball America. Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. 
• Drellich, Evan (December 6, 2010). "Gonzalez 'ready to beat the Yanks'". MLB.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. 
• Brock, Corey (December 16, 2010). "Patterson to Friars completes Gonzalez deal". MLB.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. 
• Center, Bill (December 6, 2010). "Gonzalez, Hoyer discuss Padres-Red Sox deal". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. 
• Brock, Corey (January 25, 2011). "Kelly touted in MLB.com's Top 50 Prospects". MLB.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. 
• Mayo, Jonathan (January 25, 2011). "Breaking down the Top 50 Prospects list". MLB.com. Retrieved February 22, 2011. 
• Brock, Corey (January 6, 2011). "Kelly, Rizzo among 20 invited to Padres camp". MLB.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2011. 
• Brock, Corey (March 25, 2011). "Kelly impressive in surprise start for Padres". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 31, 2011. 
• Brock, Corey (July 24, 2012). "Injured prospects Kelly, Erlin making progress". MLB.com. Retrieved February 24, 2014. 
• Center, Bill (August 27, 2012). "Kelly goes six shutout innings, wins debut". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. 
• Center, Bill (August 26, 2012). "Kelly ties Padres record as 15th starting pitcher employed". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. 
• Brock, Corey (March 22, 2013). "Prospect Kelly to have Tommy John surgery". MLB.com. Retrieved February 24, 2014. 
• Sanders, Jeff (September 20, 2013). "Kelly's rehab progressing well". U-T San Diego. Retrieved February 24, 2014. 
• Sanders, Jeff (February 5, 2014). "Law: Padres' Kelly just missed top 100". U-T San Diego. Retrieved February 24, 2014. 
• Bowman, Mark (December 10, 2015). "Bethancourt traded to Padres for Kelly". MLB.com. Retrieved April 20, 2016. 
• Lin, Dennis; Sanders, Jeff (December 10, 2015). "Padres complete trade for Bethancourt". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved April 20, 2016. 
• Bowman, Mark (April 20, 2016). "Braves could tab Foltynewicz or Blair to start". MLB.com. Retrieved April 20, 2016. 
• Bowman, Mark (April 23, 2016). "Marksberry makes brief stop with Braves". MLB.com. Retrieved April 23, 2016. 
• Gelston, Dan (May 22, 2016). "Eickhoff shuts down Braves over 7 innings, Phillies win 5-0". Associated Press. Philadelphia: AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved May 23, 2016. 
• http://m.cubs.mlb.com/player/543391/casey-kelly
• "Sea Dogs Announce 2010 Team Awards". SeaDogs.com. September 6, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2014. 

Kelly's father, Pat, and uncle, Mike, both played in the majors. Kelly made his major league debut in 2012 on his father's 57th birthday.