With the 65th selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, the Milwaukee Brewers have taken Antoine Kelly, a left-handed pitcher from Wabash Valley Community College.
#90 MLB Pipeline | #242 Baseball America
MLB Pipeline Tools:
Fastball: 70 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45
Upside, upside, upside. Antoine Kelly is an incredibly interesting player. He was drafted in the 13th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres and decided he’d rather bet on himself. He went to a Community College and is now being drafted in the second round just a year later.
The selling point for Kelly is one of the nastier fastballs you’ll see from the left side. After adding 20 lbs. over the year and improving his mechanics, Kelly is now dealing in the upper 90s, peaking at 98 mph. Scouts believe 100 is an easy projection since there’s still room to add muscle on his 6’6” frame.
That elite fastball has led Kelly to absolute dominance against community college competition. In 52.2 innings with Wabash Valley, Kelly Kd 112 hitters against 31 walks and kept a 1.88 ERA.
While the fastball is elite, the secondary offerings leave a lot to be desired. The slider flashes average at times, but is inconsistent. If he can only get the slider and fastball working, he looks like an elite contributor in the back end of a bullpen. MLB Pipeline calls his changeup “non-existent.”
Another concern about Kelly involves his delivery. He throws across his body, which is considered a tendency that will lead to significant injury. That also leads to some substantial control issues. Thankfully, the Brewers have had a lot of success with fixing mechanics in developing pitchers.