Pirates Calling Up Promising Pitching Prospect for MLB Debut
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are looking towards their youth for bullpen help and are bringing up another prospect from the minors.
The Pirates are calling up right-handed pitching prospect Antwone Kelly from Triple-A Indianapolis, according to Francys Romero, where he'll join the team ahead of the series opener vs. the Miami Marlins on June 12 at PNC Park.
Kelly was scheduled for a start with Indianapolis on June 11, but will now make his MLB debut with the Pirates this weekend and join a young pitching staff.
It's also a big moment for Kelly, who MLB Pipeline and Baseball America ranks as the Pirates' seventh/eighth best prospect, respectively.
What Role Kelly Will Have With Pirates
There wasn't a corresponding move announced with Kelly's call-up, so one of the bullpen pitchers will likely go down, likely fellow rookie Brandan Bidois, who just pitched in the last game.
Kelly has served as a starting pitcher for most of the past three seasons, with 49 starts in 54 appearances, but they'll need him out of the bullpen right now.
The Pirates bullpen has had its struggles and they've looked for just about anyone to try and fill a role, with consistent, good outings in relief.
Pittsburgh already has two bulk relief pitchers in rookie Wilber Dotel, who was a starting pitcher in the minors, and Carmen Mlodzinski, who spent the first two months of the season in the starting rotation before Jared Jones came back from injury.
The Pirates have had Kelly work in relief outings this season, especially in his last two games vs. St. Paul (Minnesota Twins), throwing three innings on June 3 and two innings on June 7.
He could also work as a spot starter, or come in later on in a bullpen game, particularly to lessen the innings workload of the rotation.
Kelly may serve in a "piggy-back" role, where he comes in after a starter and throws in a bulk relief role, so the Pirates have options for where they'll put him in games.
Overlook at Kelly's Pitch Mix
Kelly has mostly relied on his four-seam fastball and both a slider and a sweeper, which register as a cutter on Statcast, plus a splitter and changeup too.
His four-seam fastball is the what will make or break his time in the major leagues, not just in his first stint, but in the future as well.
Kelly averages around 97-98 mph on his four-seam fastball and touches triple-digits, getting as high as 101 mph.
He's been throwing it around 40-60% in starts/appearances this season and it's what he'll throw mostly out of the bullpen.
Baseball America gave his fastball a "70" grade out of 80, and MLB Pipeline has it at "65", so scouts have high praise for his
Kelly will have to throw his offspeed pitches for success too, so his slider and sweeper will come into play more often.
If Kelly can throw his offspeed off of his fastball, and do so efficiently, there's a chance he can keep a spot in the Pirates bullpen.
More Background on Kelly
Kelly hails from Oranjestad in Aruba, a tiny island nation just north of South America, and a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
He has pitched in the past two World Baseball Classic with Team Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is mostly comprised of playes from Curaçao, another nearby island nation.
The Pirates signed Kelly for $100,000 in the 2021 International Signing Period and he spent most of his first three seasons in relief, before getting a starting role with Single-A Bradenton in 2024.
He had his breakout season in 2025, with his 25 starts split between High-A Greensboro (14 starts) and Double-A Altoona (11 starts).
Kelly posted a 3.02 ERA over 107.1 innings pitched, 116 strikeouts to 33 walks, a .208 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.06 WHIP. He also posted a 9.73 K/9, a career-low 2.77 BB/9 and a career-best 3.52 K/BB.
His time in Triple-A hasn't been as effective, with a 3-4 record in 10 starts and 13 appearances, a 4.50 ERA over 54.0 innings pitched, 47 strikeouts to 24 walks, a .268 BAA and a 1.48 WHIP.
Kelly's 4.00 BB/9 is quite high, so he'll have to lower his walks during his time with the Pirates.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.