No longer a top prospect, Kelley feeling more confident than ever

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- There was a time in 2021 when right-handed hurler Jared Kelley was ranked No. 5 among the White Sox Top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline.

Kelley enters Spring Training 2024 completely off that Top 30 list, having fallen off at the midseason rankings in ‘23. But the 22-year-old also seems to be as prepared as he’s ever been as a part of the White Sox organization, getting ready to take on the Cubs’ prospects this Friday at 2 p.m. MT on his team’s Spring Breakout roster.

“Oh yeah, coming into this season, I’m way more confident than at any [other] time,” Kelley told MLB.com Saturday morning on the Minor League side of the White Sox Camelback Ranch complex.

Chicago selected Kelley at No. 47 overall in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft, an over-slot addition featuring a $3 million bonus when he signed a Minor League contract. Kelley came from Refugio (Texas) High School, where he not only was an accomplished quarterback who threw 54 touchdown passes in his sophomore season but also possessed a 98 mph fastball with a career 32-3 record, a 0.43 ERA and 23 no-hit appearances.

Those fortunes weren’t as successful for Kelley once he joined the professional ranks, where he’s posted a 3-20 record with a 5.66 ERA over 61 appearances (38 starts) since 2021. He has 173 strikeouts against 127 walks over 165 1/3 innings.

But things could be vastly different in 2024. Kelley dropped 15 pounds, losing body fat and trying to put on good muscle. He's also made a change in delivery mechanics. He was raising his arm slot over the past few years and started opening up his hips, which was making it difficult to repeat his delivery, Kelley explained.

In a return to something akin to his high school mechanics, Kelley is going a little more crossfire across his body, and the pitches are shaping well and landing in the zone.

“I’ve been having good bullpens, good live BPs,” Kelley said. “So that was a little bit of the stuff I was dealing with for the past few years. It was my alignment to the plate. I started opening up and fixed that, closed it off a little bit, and it’s been helping out a lot.

“What I do really well is hip-shoulder separation and being able to rotate and create my power. In the past few years, I wasn’t doing that. Now we are doing it, and [velocity] is back, easy velocity the way it used to be in high school. It has been good.”

Although Kelley will be stretched out during Spring Training, he fared better as a reliever in 2023 and could return to that role. His mantra is a familiar one espoused by many young players in that he’s just trying to help the team.

Coming in with the hoopla Kelley had attached to his Draft selection didn’t add any pressure to his on-field performance. He’s simply now in a better place than he was as the No. 5 White Sox prospect in 2021, the No. 10 prospect in ‘22 or the No. 17 prospect on the ‘23 preseason list.

“Just being how competitive I am, it has been tough losing, continuing to struggle a little bit,” Kelley said. “It’s just the game of baseball, and [I’m] just going through the season, learning new things, learning a lot about myself.

“I had a really good offseason tone trying to get my body in the best shape that I could and kind of getting back to that high school body. Just being able to repeat it a little bit easier mechanics-wise. I’m feeling good this season. I’m feeling very confident.”