PITTSBURGH -- Antwone Kelly was playing the motor sports video game “Rocket League” on Thursday night when he received his call to the big leagues.
The Pirates' No. 7 prospect per MLB Pipeline made his MLB debut Friday night in the Pirates' 8-3 loss to the Marlins at PNC Park, allowing two runs on two hits in 2 1/3 innings. He tallied his first career strikeout on a sweeper to Jakob Marsee. While Kelly fluctuated between the rotation and bullpen at Triple-A Indianapolis, Pirates manager Don Kelly confirmed the prospect will add bulk out of the bullpen.
“It feels amazing. This is a dream come true,” Kelly said.
The 5-foot-10 Kelly has a fastball that sits around 97 mph. He has hit 100-plus mph 17 times in 2026 thus far. Kelly represented Team Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic, allowing two runs in three innings. Catcher Endy Rodríguez joked that Kelly throws 110 mph. Kelly confirmed fans would be treated to plenty of adrenaline on the mound.
Born in Aruba, Kelly signed for $100,000 as an international free agent in 2021. In 107 1/3 innings across High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona in 2025, Kelly recorded a 3.02 ERA with 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings. He had a 4.50 ERA in 13 appearances (10 starts) with Indianapolis this season, but he tallied a 3.28 ERA in his past 10 appearances. He worked out of the bullpen in the last two.
“I think you just gotta have the same mentality,” Kelly said of pitching out of the bullpen. "It's baseball at the end of the day. So, starter, reliever, whatever they want. I'll be ready.”
Kelly is the first Aruban born pitcher in MLB in 17 years. His first call after the promotion was to his parents, who were crying on the phone. He said his family was catching a flight to Pittsburgh Friday afternoon and expected to get in later that night.
With Kelly’s promotion, the Pirates optioned rookie right-hander Brandan Bidois to Triple-A Indianapolis. The 24-year-old accumulated a 4.05 ERA in 13 1/3 innings, allowing four home runs.
“[He’s] going to be a really good reliever, and not a move that we wanted to make necessarily. It was more to get some length in the bullpen in case we need it, and Kelly has earned the opportunity to come up,” the Pirates manager said.
Kelly is expected to fill a bulk role out of the bullpen similar to Wilber Dotel and Carmen Mlodzinski, who were starters turned relievers. The move could allow Pittsburgh to use Mlodzinski in more high-leverage situations, though he recently threw 76 pitches on Wednesday.
The Pirates’ bullpen entered Friday with a 4.44 ERA, which is fourth worst in the National League.