Pitcher · 2026
Merrill Kelly
- Age
- 38
- B/T
- R/R
- Height
- 6' 2"
- Weight
- 210 lb
- Number
- #29
- Born
- October 14, 1988 in Houston, TX, USA
- MLB debut
- April 1, 2019
- Drafted
- 2010, round 8
- College
- Arizona State
- High school
- Desert Mountain
- Salary, 2026
- $20M
- dbWAR
- 2.6 3 season(s)
- IP
- 120.0
- ERA
- 4.88
- FIP
- 5.57
- K/9
- 6.0
- FIP−
- 133 100 = avg
Merrill Kelly is a starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2026 he struck out 80 batters over 120.0 innings across 21 appearances, 21 of them starts, going 8-9. His ERA of 4.88 was 16.7% higher than the league average of 4.18 — 11th of 14 on his team, and 338th of 467 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 5.57 FIP suggests that his ERA had some help behind him. He missed bats on 21.6% of swings (10.5% of every pitch he threw), walked 9.6% of the batters he faced and struck out 15.4%. His -0.7 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.
League context
Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.
Platoon splits
How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.
| Split | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | K% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs LHB | 311 | 273 | 75 | 15 | 34 | 41 | .275 | .358 | .513 | .376 | 13.2% |
| vs RHB | 208 | 187 | 51 | 8 | 16 | 39 | .273 | .329 | .444 | .337 | 18.8% |
Pitch sequencing
What Merrill Kelly throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.
Select a count to see exactly what Merrill Kelly throws in it.
Pitch arsenal
What he throws, how hard, and how often it misses in 2026.
| Changeup | 525 | 88.5 | 2,166 | 41.3% | 32.3% | |
| Four-Seam Fastball | 510 | 92.1 | 2,368 | 45.7% | 13.1% | |
| Cutter | 271 | 91.0 | 2,366 | 44.6% | 12.0% | |
| Curveball | 226 | 82.6 | 2,575 | 44.2% | 22.8% | |
| Slider | 198 | 86.4 | 2,303 | 36.4% | 33.0% | |
| Sinker | 192 | 92.3 | 2,235 | 41.7% | 8.5% |
Pitching
Standard and advanced, by season.
| Trend | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 21 | 21 | 120.0 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 126 | 65 | 80 | 50 | 4.88 | 5.57 | 1.47 | 6.0 | 3.8 | 117 | 133 | -0.7 | |
| 2025 | 32 | 32 | 184.0 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 157 | 72 | 167 | 48 | 3.52 | 3.76 | 1.11 | 8.2 | 2.3 | 85 | 90 | 2.7 | |
| 2024 | 13 | 13 | 73.2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 33 | 63 | 19 | 4.03 | 4.25 | 1.17 | 7.7 | 2.3 | 99 | 104 | 0.6 |
Head to head
Put Merrill Kelly beside up to three others.
Similar players
Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.
wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.