Shawn Kelley

by ~ December 30th, 2008 at 2:16 am

2008:

Level
 G IP H ER K BB ERA
A 8 7.2 10 3 12 2 3.52
A+ 12 12 8 0 12 3 0.00
AA 29 42.2 31 10 44 17 2.11
VWL 13 14.2 14 6 21 2 3.68
Total 62 77 63 19 89 24 2.22

I’ve noticed that some fans are very concerned the 2009 Seattle Mariners bullpen.  Losing J.J. Putz, Sean Green and R.A. Dickey to other teams as well as Brandon Morrow and Ryan Rowland-Smith to the starting rotation (presumably) isn’t doing anything for the team’s depth, but the cabinet is not bare.

Shawn Kelley is one of Seattle’s best relief prospects and should be ready to make his mark on the big leagues at some point in 2009.  AAA Tacoma is the next step up for the 24 year old righty, but he appears to already possess the makings of a major league reliever and could make the big club with a solid Spring Training, assuming he is one of the team’s non-roster invitees.

With just 12 pro games under his belt entering the 2008 season, Kelley started the year back with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and made it all the way to the West Tennessee Diamondjaxx before ending the year as a closer in the Venezuelan Winter League.  Working primarily with a low-to-mid 90s fastball and a slider that was regarded as the best in the system by Baseball America earlier this month, Kelley misses bats and has great control.

Unfortunately, Kelley has a bit of an injury history, starting with Tommy John surgery way back in 2003 as a 19 year old at Austin Peay.  He also closed out the 2007 season on the disabled list with an elbow strain.

(Rewritten 3/7/09:) The likely cause to his elbow troubles are a couple couple of mechanical flaws described by Chris O’Leary as hyperabduction and rushing.  If you take a quick glance through these essays you should be able to spot the problems in this picture of Kelley from 2007 or this sequence from Spring Training 2009.

Kelley should be able to avoid problems for the most part now that he is pitching in short relief rather than starting.  He made it through 77 innings in 2008 with no trouble so he should be fine, but it could be something to keep an eye on.

Assuming he stays healthy, Kelley is going to help the Seattle Mariners sooner than later, and could be the team’s future closer.

Kelley, Shawn - West Tenn mugshot 2008

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  • banton

    Nice pickup on the arm location; you could have picked the right improvement necessary to bring this arm to fruition.

    I had never heard of him. Let’s hope that other teams’ don’t ask for him in a trade!!

  • Slurve

    He is basically the on Mark Lowe or the Stephen Kahn fast track right?

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Pretty much.

  • Stranded Mariner

    Can you elaborate on Stephen Kahn being on the fast track? I couldn’t find much info on him, aside from the fact that he’s on the 40-man roster.

    Great write-up, Jon. I think this guy has a great shot of making the team during Spring Training. It’s also great to see so many options in the M’s bullpen, especially when thinking about that horrible pen in 1996 that could blow a ten run lead like it was nothing!

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Well, Kahn would have been on that ‘fast track’ had injuries not slowed him down so much. He was very good pre-injury but hasn’t showed that same dominance since coming back. He got pounded in the AFL. If he figures it out again he’ll be up in the bigs in no time, though.

    Speaking of the bullpen, Seattle signed RHRP Eric Hull to a minor league deal. Nothing to write home about, but he’ll be hoping to be 2009′s Roy Corcoran.

  • Stranded Mariner

    Thanks for the info on Kahn.

    I think the bullpen will be very solid this year, with lots of guys contending for spots. I think Eric Hull may be a pleasant surprise. His numbers at Pawtucket were decent last year, but he gave up way too many hits, but hopefully a strong defense behind him will help.

  • Slurve

    Kahn has a high heat FB and a nice Curve well that was pre injury but if he wasn’t he probably would be a set up guy.

  • slidergurl

    Jon,
    The first picture you have posted “this photo of Kelley in college” is not a picture of the Shawn Kelley featured in your post. The 2nd is indeed a picture of him, however. Just wanted to clear that up for us Kelley fans! Go Mariners!

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Hi slidergurl,

    Perhaps not. It doesn’t look much like him, and I remember spending a lot of time trying to figure out if it was him (just looking much younger) or not, and I can’t remember how I determined that it was indeed him.

    There have been some new photos taken since then (such as this one from Lonnie at Mariner Central) that show his mechanical flaws a bit better. Seems he has a problem with rushing, rather than just hyperabduction.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    Alright I fixed the mechanics bit