Merrill Kelly's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly looks to build on his strong start to the year when he takes the hill against the division-rival Colorado Rockies and right-hander Cal Quantrill in Tuesday's road start. After giving up eight runs in 12 frames of spring ball, Kelly has sharpened up to allow just three runs in 13 2/3 innings with a 12:1 K:BB across his first two appearances of the regular season. The 35-year-old soft-tossing right-hander has plenty of experience with Colorado in his career, and fantasy managers may be weary of starting him due to the unfavorable ballpark factor. Over his last three starts at Coors Field since 2022, however, Kelly is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and 19 strikeouts across 19 innings. Season-long fantasy managers should feel fine starting Kelly against the Rocks, and the righty holds some contrarian DFS appeal in a shy-away spot on paper.

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly will look to keep up the excellent work at home when he takes on the visiting Colorado Rockies on Friday. Kelly has long pitched much better at Chase Field than anywhere else as he sports a 3.17 ERA alongside a 24.3% K% in his career at home versus a 4.48 ERA and 19.6% K% on the road. However, his dominance at home increased in the 2023 season when he pitched to a 2.59 ERA and a 29% K% in 93 2/3 frames at Chase Field. The 35-year-old is an excellent fantasy option on Friday against a Rockies team that ranked 29th with a .285 wOBA on the road and also dead last with a 27.3% K% outside of Coors Field.

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly continued his stellar spring during Monday's game against the Oakland Athletics. The right-hander threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and striking out seven batters. The 35-year-old hasn't allowed a run in two of his first three outings this spring. The hope is that these outings carry over into the regular season. Kelly should continue to climb up draft boards if he keeps pitching like he has lately.

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly gave up two runs on five hits in three innings during his second appearance of spring training on Wednesday, striking out four batters in a 7-5 Cactus League loss to the division-rival Colorado Rockies. Kelly is still off to a fine start this spring, despite Wednesday's mixed bag, turning in a 3.60 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with seven punchouts over five frames in two showings. The 35-year-old right-hander was a workhorse for the D-backs in 2023, tossing 177 2/3 innings (30 starts) for a rock-solid 3.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 187:69 K:BB. Although he doesn't carry particularly high upside, Kelly is a relatively safe fantasy bet at his 148.7 Yahoo ADP this spring and will face these same Rockies during Arizona's first series of the regular season in late March.

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen is scheduled to make his first spring Cactus League start on March 1 against the Cincinnati Reds, while right-hander Merrill Kelly will make his first start on March 8 against the Chicago Cubs. Including the playoffs, Gallen and Kelly threw 243 2/3 and 201 2/3 innings, respectively, in 2023. Kelly took some time off in the offseason before getting back to his training regiment that included range-of-motion exercises, according to manager Torey Lovullo. Because of the big workloads in their run to the World Series last year, the D-backs will make sure to take it easy on both pitchers this spring. Gallen is a low-end No. 1 fantasy starter, while Kelly profiles as more of a No. 4 to round out your fantasy rotation.