Antwone Thyshon Kelly (born September 1, 2003) is an Aruban professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has pitched for the Netherlands national team in international competitions.
| Antwone Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 89 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: September 1, 2003 Oranjestad, Aruba | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Stats at Baseball Reference |
Professional career
editKelly signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent in 2021. He made his professional debut that year with the Rookie League Dominican Summer League Pirates and played the 2022 season with the Rookie League Florida Complex League Pirates. Kelly opened the 2023 season in the Complex League before being promoted to the Single- A Bradenton Marauders near the season's end. In 2024, he spent the season with Bradenton and went 1–6 with a 4.43 ERA and 65 strikeouts over 69 innings.[1]
Kelly opened the 2025 season with the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers and was promoted to the Double-A Altoona Curve in June.[2][3] Over 25 starts between the two teams, he went 3–3 with a 3.02 ERA and 116 strikeouts.[4] On November 18, the Pirates added Kelly to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[5]
Kelly was optioned to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians to begin the 2026 season.[6]
International career
editKelly debuted for the Netherlands in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), pitching one scoreless inning.[7] He was the ace for the Netherlands in the 2026 WBC.[8] He took the loss against Venezuela, allowing two runs in three innings.[9][10] His younger brother Jaitone also pitched for the Dutch in 2026.[11][12]
References
edit- ↑ "Fastball Command Helps Pirates' Antwone Kelly Take Next Step". May 2, 2025.
- ↑ "Pirates farm report: David Bednar dominating early on in Triple-A". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ↑ "Pitching delivers for Altoona Curve in win over Harrisburg Senators".
- ↑ "Pirates' Antwone Kelly: Joins 40-man roster". CBS Sports. November 18, 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
- ↑ "Pirates Designate Four Players For Assignment". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ↑ "Harrington, Bidois among moves as Pirates trim roster". mlb.com. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
- ↑ "Antwone Kelly Minor & WBC Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ↑ "Every MLB team's participants in 2026 World Baseball Classic". MLB.com. Retrieved 2026-02-24.
- ↑ "MLB Gameday: Netherlands 2, Venezuela 6 Final Score (03/06/2026)". MLB.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ↑ "In packed Pool D, Venezuela opens with important win over Netherlands". MLB.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ↑ "Jaitoine Kelly Minor & WBC Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
- ↑ "Jaitoine Kelly: "Ik kijk uit naar op het veld staan met mijn broer en big leaguers!"". HonkbalSoftbal.nl (in Dutch). 2026-03-05. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
External links
edit- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)