Owen
Kelly

St. Louis signee. 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame that’s started to fill out over the last calendar year and offers more room to do so. Came out of the ‘pen in this look for the Lancers and hurled 2 ⅔ key innings to secure a tight-knit win over a conference rival. Simple and consistent mover down the mound, stays connected with the rubber to front foot strike and rotates efficiently onto a firm lead leg. Doesn’t work with much effort and repeats. Is one of the more competitive arms in the state, looks polished and poised on the mound at all times, capable of pitching through pressure. Loose easy arm action with some length on the backside, finishes from a ¾ slot. Fastball sat at 88-91 mph with natural arm-side action from his lower arm angle and sizzle up in the zone at times. Confidently spun a tight, short wrinkle slider at 82-84 mph for strikes consistently, turned over a fading changeup to left-handed hitters at 81-83 mph. Continues to impress each time we see him and is a high-end follow on the mound in the Illinois’ 2023 class.

St. Louis commit. Kelly threw five scoreless innings against cross-town rival, Belleville West, last week. He struck out eight, walked three, and allowed three hits. Belleville East earned the win (1-0) over their rivals.

St. Louis commit. Long, lanky 6-foot-4, 195-pound frame with thin levers that project. Toed the rubber for the Lancers in a win over Freeburg, hurling six innings of two-run ball. Fluid mover, hip drifts downhill as lead leg lifts, stays connected with his backside. Closed throughout, rotates off the rubber to front footstrike, works in line to target, athletic and controlled release. Competitor with poise, bounced back after two runs in the first inning, blanking Freeburg for the remainder of his outing. Arm plays with some length on the backside, comes out of loose ¾ slot with arm speed out front. Natural run on his fastball, touched 89 mph early, sitting 85-88 mph throughout. Short, tight spin on a bullet slider, turned to it often at 81-83 mph, syncs well with his fastball. 

RHP Owen Kelly (Belleville East, 2023) started the first game of the event and left a positive impression over a clean three-inning stint. Built at an upside 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame, Kelly’s fastball sat 85-87 mph from a loose, clean ¾ slot and the physical projection left to come on his body suggests there’s plenty more to come. He mixed in a firm 78-81 mph slider at 2,259 RPM on average, killing both spin and lift on a 79-81 mph changeup, too. Kelly is one of the top uncommitted prospects from Southern Illinois. 

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-3, 185-pounds. Athletic frame.
Delivery: Controlled tempo, slight coil into a medium balance point, slight knee bend while striding down the mound, works in-line with the plate. In-game stats: 3 IP, 4K, 2H, HBP
Arm Action: RH. Long/loose arm out of the glove into a 3/4 slot.
FB: T87.3, 84-87 mph. Mostly straight, able to control around the zone. T2257, 2026 average rpm.
SL: 79-80 mph. Short 10/4 shape with feel for the zone. T2346, 2259 average rpm.
CH: 79-81 mph. Flashed hard fade to the arm-side. T1407, 1350 average rpm.

Highly projectable 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame that’ll comfortably add mass over the next few years. Took the rubber against one of the tournament’s top lineups and held them to one run in his start. Fluid downhill mover that repeats an efficient delivery and works in rhythm. Fastball played at 84-86 mph with feel for the corners, worked out of a ¾ slot. Threw several tightly spun low-70s sliders that broke late off a fastball plane. Bulldog mentality on the mound; competes and attacks the zone consistently. An arrow-up name in the Illinois’ 2023 class

6-foot-3, 180-pound, athletically-built, high-waisted right-handed pitcher with all kinds of upside in the frame. Came out of the bullpen and threw well despite less than ideal rainy conditions. Went one inning without allowing a hit and struck out one. Loose, clean arm plays from a high ¾ slot. Fastball gets late jump through the zone, works mostly straight and showed control; sat 83-84 mph with intriguing spin rates of 2300-2420 rpm. Did not see a breaking ball. Upside 2023 uncommitted arm.