‘KB0SAN Maddux’ Merrill Kelly dreams of big league wins

Former KBO player Merrill Kelly (35-Arizona Diamondbacks) picked up his ninth win of the season to move into sole possession of first place on the Major League Baseball’s National League wins list.

On April 20 against the Milwaukee Brewers, Kelly pitched seven shutout innings, striking out seven and allowing just one run on three hits and one walk in a 9-1 victory. The win was his ninth of the season, giving him a three-game lead over teammates Zack Greinke (28) and Mitch Keller (27-Pittsburgh Pirates), Clayton Kershaw (35-LA Dodgers), and Marcus Stroman (32-Chicago Curves). Currently, the overall wins leader in the major leagues is Tampa Bay Rays ace Shane McLaren (26-11-1, 2.12 ERA), the American League’s winningest team. Kelly has gotten his ERA back into the double digits, moving from eighth to fourth in the National League in that category. At this rate, he’s on pace for 20 wins and a batting title.토토사이트

Kelly, who began his journey in the big leagues in 2019 after playing four seasons with the SK Wyverns (now SSG) in South Korea from 2015 to 2018, began an era of success with a 13-14 record (4.42 ERA) in his first year. He’s been even more spectacular this year, improving his overall numbers to 13-8 with a 3.37 ERA in 2022. His fastball sits in the low 150 mph range, which is normal for a major leaguer. However, his changeup has gotten sharper and sharper, and his command of the entire strike zone has improved, leading some to compare him to Greg Maddux, who was known as the “Wizard of the Zone” in the major leagues.

After parting ways with SK, he signed a two-year, $6 million deal with his hometown Diamondbacks before re-signing with the team ahead of this season. His guaranteed money has tripled to $18 million over two years.

The Diamondbacks are 44-29 through 20 games and in first place in the National League West, ahead of the San Francisco Giants (39-32) and Los Angeles Dodgers (39-33), thanks in large part to Kelly, who has developed into one of the league’s best ace pitchers. The Diamondbacks have missed the postseason in each of the last five seasons since 2017, when they reached the postseason as a wild card.