Two foreign pitchers from the KBO have been making waves in Major League Baseball (MLB) this season with impressive performances.
They are right-hander Merrill Kelly (Arizona Diamonds), who played for the SK Wyverns (formerly the SSG Landers), and left-hander Brooks Reilly (New York Mets), a former Lotte Giants ace. They are among the top pitchers on the all-time list of personal records, raising their stock.
Kelly has a diverse arsenal of pitches
A mainstay in Arizona’s starting rotation since 2019, Kelly has thrown five or more innings in 10 consecutive starts, starting with his second start of the season on April 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
During that stretch, he has six quality starts (six innings of three earned runs or less) and double-digit strikeouts in two games.
Kelly picked up his sixth win of the season (3-0) and moved into a tie for the NL lead in wins, while lowering his ERA to 2.83, which ranks fifth in the league. He is second in batting average (0.192) and 10th in strikeouts (69).
His sharpened delivery has been the key to his success. Against the Boston Red Sox on May 29, Kelly utilized a variety of pitches, including a changeup, cut fastball, sinking fastball, curveball, and slider, to keep batters off balance.
Out of his 108 pitches, only 25 of them were fastballs.
Boston manager Alex Cora praised Kelly after the game, comparing him to Greg Maddux, who he called a “pitch wizard.
Reilly’s transformation from Rangers ace to Mets closer
After making the switch to a Mets uniform ahead of the season, Reilly entered the game in the top of the eighth inning of a 4-2 home win over the Philadelphia Phillies on April 2 and pitched 0.2 innings of one-hit ball, striking out two.
With the win, Railey picked up his 13th save of the season and moved into a tie for second in MLB in that category. The leader in that category is the Milwaukee Brewers’ Peter Strzelecki (14 holds).
After going on the disabled list with elbow inflammation in April, Railey has been pitching like a man possessed since his return on May 15. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 7.2 innings over his last nine games.메이저놀이터
In the process, he’s lowered his ERA from 5.23 to under two. At this rate, he’s on pace to surpass his career-best single-season performance from last year (1-2, 25 holds, 6 saves, 2.68 ERA).
After playing for Lotte for five seasons starting in 2015, Railey returned to the big leagues in 2020 with a 48-53 record and a 4.13 ERA in the KBO.