Merrill Kelly (SP, ARI) - Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues

OWNED IN: 35% of leagues

ANALYSIS: It has been a particularly interesting path to the MLB for 30-year old rookie Merrill Kelly since leaving Arizona State (including a pretty successful stint in South Korea), but he has been an extremely pleasant surprise for the Diamondbacks this season with a 4.03 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 105.0 IP across 18 starts. Not only that, but the late-blooming Kelly has been heating up from the mound and coming into his own in the seven starts (through a durable 45.1 IP) he's made since the start of June to the tune of a 2.98 ERA and 0.93 WHIP.

He isn't one to blow batters away with his fastball velocity, and he accordingly utilizes a diverse repertoire with frequent use of a cutter, curveball, and changeup, although these pitches don't generate strikeouts in high volume as evidenced by his underwhelming total of 36 over his successful seven-start stretch. He also has had his fair share of struggles with the long ball, allowing six bombs since the start of June and 15 on the year. So what has been his x-factor in emerging at this stage in his professional career? He rarely ever gives the opposition a free trip to first base. He has walked just five batters over his last seven outings, and his walk rate of 6.4% on the year goes a long way toward limiting damage on batted balls in a hitter-friendly venue like Chase Field. Merrill Kelly is now a bona fide major league starter with fantastic control of the strike zone and the ability to go deep into games, and he has epitomized the concept of, "better late than never".