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 against 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. Pittsburgh fell to Miami 8-3 in the series opener.
“It's a dream come true. I felt like a kid,” Kelly said postgame.
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. He entered with a man on second and two outs in the top of the seventh inning, touching 100 mph before retiring Joe Mack on a pop-up.
In the eighth, Kelly allowed a leadoff double to Javier Sanoja and then a two-run shot off the right-field foul pole from Liam Hicks. Kelly remained confident in the home run pitch postgame, an 0-2 changeup, saying there was nothing he could do about it and that it was a good pitch.
The 5-foot-10 Kelly has a fastball that sits around 97 mph. He hit 100-plus mph six times in his debut.
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. He said postgame he controlled his nerves by doing the same thing he did in the WBC: controlling his breathing and attacking the zone.
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 pregame 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.
“I thought he was as advertised,” Kelly said postgame. “Throwing the ball hard. Mixed in some offspeed stuff. He looked good.”
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 ended Friday with a 4.57 ERA, which is the fourth-worst in the National League.