Antoine
Kelly

Changed his commitment from Central Arizona JC to Wabash Valley JC.

6.6.18 - Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 13th round (381st overall), out of high school.

5.23.18 - Currently ranked No. 16 in Illinois' Class of 2018. A Central Arizona JC commit. Saw him at his best in the Regional Semifinal against Oak Park-River Forest. The long, lanky 6-foot-5, 175-pound left-hander presents himself as an imposing force on the mound. His demeanor was full of energy, displaying confidence previously not seen. Was deliberate with drop and drive delivery, using all his momentum to drive down the mound towards home. Arm works quickly from a 3/4 slot, gets out front, creates angles with length. Fastball, excellent command of, worked inside and out keeping the ball at the knees or lower, ranged from 90-95, sat 92-94, popped a 95 in the sixth inning. Slider, used sparingly as fastball was dominant, 2/8 shape with depth, 74-78. In a losing effort, pitched 6.1 innings, gave up three hits, two runs (walk-off home run), one walk and 14 strikeouts. Greatly improved his draft status over his past few outings.

5.5.18 - Central Arizona JC commit. Currently ranked No. 16 in the Illinois’ 2018 class. 6-foot-5, 174-pound, left-handed pitcher, high-waisted, long-limbed, highly-projectable frame, room to physically thicken out. Started for Maine East and finished with a line of: 6IP, 4H, 0R, 13K, 1HBP. Kept the No. 20 New Trier Trevians offense stymied allowing only one extra base hit on the day. Pitches with effortless rhythm, coils at balance, works in line, athletic finish out front, ball jumps out of his hand. Can get rotational at times with an inconsistent front side. Long arm on back side, quick and easy out front, loose, clean high ¾ arm slot, gets extension at times. Is best when he stayed on top of the ball and kept his composure. Pitched up in the zone effectively and flashed ability to bury the slider to the back foot of righties. Worked down in the zone more as the game progressed. Fastball had significant run at times, ranged from 87-90 mph, touching 91 mph a handful of times. Slider worked as a slurve, threw it for an out pitch more than for strikes, flashed sharp break when arm speed was maintained, ranged 73-78 mph. Did not throw a changeup in the game or in warmups. Maintained velocity throughout, touching 91 mph twice in the 6th. 2018 Draft follow.

11.21.17 - Verbally committed to Central Arizona JC. 

7.11.17 - Uncommitted. Currently ranked No. 13 in the Illinois Class of 2018 and No. 364 in the PBR Overalls. 6-foot-5, 174-pound left-handed pitcher with a lanky, projectable frame. Works from a ¾ arm angle, works down out of the glove with extension out front. Drop and drive delivery with a slightly closed landing, creates a crossfire angle. Fastball worked 88-90 topping out at 91 mph. Slider has depth at 75-78 mph. Changeup sat 82 mph. One of the most projectable arms in the Midwest. 

6.15.17 - Lanky, projectable left-handed pitcher at 6-foot-5, 174-pounds. Works from a ¾ arm angle with a loose arm action and stab on the backside. Drop and drive delivery with easy effort and slight hesitation at balance point. Works in line with home plate with a heel toe landing. Fastball sat 85-87 mph for strikes. Slider has 2-8 shape with tight rotation at 74-76 mph. Changeup was straight at 78-81 mph. One of the most projectable arms in the Illinois 2018 Class.

4.20.17 - 6-foot-5, 170-pounds, tall, lanky limbs, wide shoulders with room to fill out, highly projectable body, left-handed pitcher and first baseman. One of the top uncommitted juniors in Illinois, currently ranked No. 6 left-handed pitcher and No. 20 overall in Illinois’ 2018 class. Battled the flu and pitched in unfavorable conditions, 25-30 mph wind gusts blowing out. Attacked hitters with his fastball, working five innings, striking out nine batters, including five straight at one point. A towering figure on the mound, works from a ¾ arm slot, long, loose arm action, lands square, works across his body. Heavy fastball, run action, started the game at 86-88 mph, after hitting the first batter, was consistently 88-89 out of the stretch, sat 85-88 mph, topping out at 89, for the rest of the game. Curveball, sweeping action, 72 mph, only used a handful of times. Flashed a sneaky step-off pick-off move to first.

4/12/19: At 6-foot-5, 210 pounds Kelly physically resembles David Price. On this look he showed erratic command of a 92-97 mph FB, a seldom used slider at 80-86 and raw pitchability. However, there isn't another college lefty in this year's draft class who combines his body type, arm strength and the ease in which he does it. He was out of sync with a lower half rush and upper body arm drag causing command struggles throughout his two-plus inning start. Including the seven walks from this most recent outing, Kelly has walked 21 and struckout 63 in 31.1 IP this spring. He's shown improvement in his eight months at Wabash Valley with his FB gaining velocity from exposure to a consistent throwing program and training routine. He works very slow and tries to keep the game slow. He would benefit by adopting a more aggressive and confident body language. At this point, he is a polarizing prospect within the scouting industry; scouts either really like him, or they don't much at all. Some recognize the hard-to-find talent of a long, loose bodied lefty with premium arm strength. Others see the high risk and lack of pitchability, with most likely a slow track through a MLB player development system. Regardless, Kelly will have plenty of interest from clubs who aren't afraid to gamble on young, high ceiling arms that they can develop over the long term. Texas, and to some extent Toronto and San Diego, have shown this tendency in the past. (Seifert)

11/1/18: 6-foot-5 lefty possesses tremendous projection. Loose arm. Easy FB at 91-94 with life and deception from 3/4 slot. More velo to come. Solid feel for a 79-82 mph slider and 82-84 mph change. With continued development and consistency, looks to be a major prospect to watch this spring. (Seifert)