Red Sox Prospect Casey Kelly Commits to Pitching
Casey Kelly, Boston's first-round draft pick in 2008, is stowing away his batting gloves and will commit to pitching after a year and a half of experimenting in the minors as both a shortstop and pitcher. Kelly informed the club of his decision on Monday, according to WEEI.com.
"He's as excited about his future on the mound as we are," Epstein told the Web site. "I don't think you could ever expect a 19-year-old pitcher to go out and do what he did. It's a pretty impressive debut."
Kelly was named the Red Sox' Minor League Pitcher of the Year after just a half-season on the rubber split between Greenville and Salem. Kelly also earned a nod to the Futures All-Star event held in St. Louis after posting a 2.08 combined ERA through the first half of the campaign.
"I think he sees he's relatively close to the big leagues, certainly for his age, and has a chance to make an impact in this organization," added Epstein. "Maybe he agreed with us in the end that this was his chance to make the most profound impact on the organization."
In the second half of the year, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder switched to shortstop and hit just .214 in eight games with the Gulf Coast League Red Sox and .224 in 32 games with Greenville. The Arizona Fall League wasn't too kind to the now-20-year-old Kelly either, as he posted a .171 (7-for-41) batting average with one double, one triple and six RBIs in 11 games played.
