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Joe Kelly’s Wild Ride of a Season

By Jason Haskins

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“I want your listeners to know, I’m going to win the Cy Young this year. Just letting everyone know so when I win it you heard it hear first.”- Joe Kelly to WEEI radio, 1/24/15

Eight straight wins. A 2.68 ERA in six starts in August. An even lower 2.31 ERA in two starts in September.

If there was a Cy Young Award for the last 40 days, Joe Kelly would certainly be a strong contender.

-= Related: Jackie Bradley Jr.’s Hot Summer Gives Red Sox Hope For 2016 =-

Kelly has located the right stuff since August 1st, enjoying a late season renaissance in a year that has taken him from Boston to Pawtucket and back again.

Kelly certainly began the 2015 season with high aspirations, as noted in the above quote. While having confidence is a plus, there wasn’t much in Kelly’s career indicating this sort of breakout season would occur. Kelly had shown moments of greatness but overall he was 21-16 in three seasons, including a 4-2 record and a 4.11 ERA with the Red Sox last year.

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Numbers to rally behind, yes. The Red Sox weren’t looking for Kelly to be a Cy Young type of pitcher. That would have been nice, but what the Red Sox needed was a pitcher that could keep them in a pennant race and win 15 games.

What they got in the first three months, however, was a disaster. Kelly’s season began quiet, posting a 1-0 record in four starts in the month of April. A 4.94 ERA plagued Kelly, though he was showing good command with a rate of 10.65 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Then, inexplicably, the wheels fell off. Kelly’s control seemingly vanished in the dead of the night. His strikeout to walk rate, once at 6 to 1, fell to 2 to 1 and his ERA rose to 5.67. A 2-5 record only contributed to the Red Sox sending Kelly back to Triple-A Pawtucket on June 25th.

Focus turned to command and locating pitches. He has always been a power pitcher and that aspect of his game still remained. Kelly, still abound with confidence, used the time in Pawtucket to improve his consistency. The results were a 1-1 record in four starts, posting an ERA of 2.84 and a WHIP of 1.05 in 19 innings. The reward: being recalled to Boston on July 22nd.

The first two starts upon his return mirrored his performance from pre-Pawtucket: 13 hits and 9 runs in just over 8 innings of work. Not exactly stats to hang his hat on.

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The calendar turned to August and Kelly flipped the switch. He still struggled in his third start back, giving up 9 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings of work. The offense did their job, though, scoring 11 runs and getting Kelly the victory, thus beginning his 8-game winning streak. The streak is the longest for a Red Sox pitcher since Pedro Martinez won nine in a row from April 20-June 4, 1999.

Kelly now has 10 wins on the season, second on the staff behind Wade Miley’s 11, and has lowered his ERA to 4.70. He won’t be winning the Cy Young award, but he has bounced back nicely, proving he may be a commodity to the Red Sox in the future.

Kelly is signed through 2019 and is only 27. If he continues to pitch like this and keeps working on his command, he will be a solid pitcher for the Red Sox for years to come. Who knows, he might one day bring home that Cy Young. For now, it’s time to enjoy what’s he’s accomplished in bringing a little positive news to the Red Sox in this disappointing season. And that’s a reward to be proud of.

Next: Jackie Bradley Jr.'s Hot Summer Gives Red Sox Hope For 2016

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