It's Time To Send Joe Kelly Down To Pawtucket And Call Up Brian Johnson
I’ve seen enough of Joe Kelly. Nice guy, good dude, but he absolutely cannot make his next scheduled start for the Boston Red Sox.
Here’s the thing about Joe Kelly. He’s a regular guy, just like you and me. He’s got a great personality, he’s funny on Twitter, and he doesn’t take himself too seriously — all things that will win you over with the fans here in Boston. But has anyone noticed that he’s having a worse season than Rick Porcello? You know, the guy that everyone wants his head on a stick because of how awful he’s been this year, but nobody ever mentions Kelly in the same sentence? Why is that? Oh, that’s right. It’s because Porcello just signed a 4-year, $82.5 million extension, and Kelly is making $603,000. Yeah, that makes sense. Unfortunately, you’re stuck with Porcello, unless you give him a phantom injury and put him on the disabled list. But Kelly? You have options, literally.
CC Sabathia just passed Porcello for the league lead in earned runs allowed last night, and needed to give up six earned runs to the worst team in baseball in order to dethrone Rick, the King of Suck. But on Tuesday night, Kelly took the lead in the race for the suckiest ERA amongst those who belong to the suckiest rotation in the American League. The Red Sox are winning streak proof because of these two guys. Kelly allowed five earned runs in 3.2 innings to bump his ERA to 5.67. Out of 100 qualified starting pitchers in the MLB, Porcello and Kelly rank 93rd and 95th, respectively. Kelly has made 14 starts in 2015, and has given his team seven innings just twice, and has surrendered five earned runs or more six times. And for a guy that hits 99 mph with his fastball, Kelly has struck out three batters or less in eight of his last ten starts. It’s mind-blowing that a guy with his kind of velocity has a 10.4% swing and miss percentage on his fastball. How is that even possible?
This year, opponents are hitting .274 with a .768 OPS against Kelly’s fastball. Five of his eight home runs allowed have been on fastballs. That’s not good, but it’s not nearly as bad as his breaking pitches. Opponents have been teeing off on his curveball, hitting that pitch at a .346/.433/.500 clip. And the slider that he incorporated this year, opponents are hitting .314/.351/.514 when he experiments with that pitch.
Because Kelly throws so hard, I’ve seen plenty of fans suggesting that the Red Sox should try him out in the bullpen. This is a horrible idea. Kelly has the fourth worst WHIP among qualified starters in the American League (1.500), which means he’s a disaster waiting to happen out of the bullpen, due to the alarming rate that he allows baserunners. The Red Sox need to option him down to Pawtucket, where he can figure himself out, because there’s no doubt that there’s a ton of talent in there somewhere. But when you pump 99 on the gun, and guys are still seeing the ball really well when they step in the batter’s box, you know you have some things you need to work on. And it’d be great if he wasn’t working on those things up here, where fans pay the highest ticket and beer prices in baseball.
In the meantime, it’s time to see what Brian Johnson can do for this Red Sox team. As a 24-year-old left-hander, he’s waited patiently for his turn, while 22-year-old Eduardo Rodriguez has set the world on fire at the major league level. Johnson is 8-4 for the PawSox this year with 2.80 ERA, and 69 strikeouts in 74 innings. The former first-round draft pick was 10-2 at Double-A Portland last year, with a 1.75 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 118 innings. You’ll hear plenty of people say, “He can’t be any worse than what we’ve got up here already,” but I think it’s fair to say that he’ll be significantly better than both Porcello and Kelly. And so help me God, if the Red Sox send Kelly down to Pawtucket and put Justin Masterson back in the rotation, I might just end it all right then and there.