FORT MYERS, Fla. — Top pitching prospect Casey Kelly will start Tuesday in Port Charlotte against Tampa Bay, rather than Tim Wakefield, who will instead throw three innings at the minor league complex.
Kelly, who got the win after throwing two scoreless innings in a start against Baltimore earlier this month, will get about 60 pitches in.
"It'll be fun for us to watch him," manager Terry Francona said. "It'll be a good experience for him."
It will also be a good chance to get the youngster stretched out before he begins his first summer as a full-time pitcher.
"He won't be as much as everyone else," Francona added. "It's almost like [Jon] Lester a couple of years ago where there's going to be a big jump in his workload this year so we're trying to transition that and not get him out there too quick."
The move is made to scale back Wakefield in advance of his outing Saturday in Washington.
