RHP Jared Kelley, Refugio HS [TX]
Full index of profiles here
DoB: 10/3/2001. Commitment: Texas
Finally, our first high schooler. Every year it seems we discuss the fact that a high schooler has never gone first overall, and while it would have taken a fantastic season as well as a lot of luck to push Kelley into that spot even before the season was cancelled, it's pretty much guaranteed that the streak will extend another season. Still, Kelley is, in my opinion, the top high school pitcher in the country, and he put himself in that position from the tiny South Texas town of Refugio, about 35 miles north of Corpus Christi.
When talking about high school pitchers, the three most basic things you look for are polish, stuff, and build, and Kelley has all three of those. He's a 6'3" right hander that has already begun to fill out his durable frame, which should in theory give him a better chance to manage a full starter's workload. Stuff-wise, he comes at you with an easy, easy mid 90's fastball that he throws as if he's just playing catch, and he's hit 99 quite a few times. He also adds a really nice changeup for a high schooler that plays really well off his fastball, and he's making steady progress refining a slurvy breaking ball that should be at least an above average pitch in time. Kelley controls the strike zone extremely well for a high school pitcher, with plus command that really helps him tie everything together.
High school pitchers are the riskiest of the four major demographics, but as far as those guys go, Kelley is about as low risk as it gets. With a strong frame, an effortless delivery, and swing and miss stuff, he's got nearly everything he needs to be a future workhorse ace. The last similar kid to come out of the high school ranks was lefty Ryan Weathers back in 2018, though Kelley throws even harder with the same polish and build from the right side. It's really hard not to love Kelley as a prospect, high school pitcher risk or not. The only thing holding him back for now is the consistency of his breaking ball, which occasionally flashes plus potential but isn't quite there yet. He probably fits somewhere in the middle of the first round, just due to the strength of the top of this college class and the shortened season, but he's my favorite high schooler in this class and I'd expect him to be the first one off the board. Kelley is committed to Texas.
Area Code Games (with velocity)
Under Armour All America Game
No comments:
Post a Comment