Merrill KellyARI · SP

2026 review

Merrill Kelly took the ball every fifth day for ARI but couldn't find outs, walking his way into trouble all season: a 16.1 K% and a 9.9 BB% over 704 BF, a 4.94 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 162.0 IP across 29 starts, 10 W and 14 L. He opened the year on the 15-day IL, placed Mar 25 (retroactive to Mar 24) for left intercostal nerve irritation, took a rehab assignment Apr 3, and was activated Apr 14 after missing 20 regular-season days. Drafted at NFBC ADP rank 247, he finished 1454th of 1472 in the TDK LABS 5x5 value rank, 1207 spots below, and 793rd of 811 pitchers, 221st of 236 starters. His 23.4 CSW% over 2622 pitches was the 28th lowest of 517 pitchers with 100+ BF, and his 4.94 ERA ran 1.41 below his 6.35 xERA over 704 BF. His best month was Jul at a 1.95 ERA in 27.2 IP against a 9.20 ERA in 14.2 IP in Apr. The TDK LABS card tracked the slide: by early May it had the command trouble reading as a repeating pattern across starts, by late Jun it flagged sagging velocity behind an already-bloated ERA, and by late Sep it read him as a marginal strikeout arm whose profile had narrowed.