Married to Bre…Has two kids, Hadley and Hayes...On the day of his wedding, Dec. 1, 2018, officially signed his Major League contract with the D-backs...With childhood roots in Houston, he grew up a fan of the Astros and Craig Biggio...Kelly's favorite number during his youth was seven because of Biggio...Growing up, he considered himself primarily as a basketball player and only played baseball during the basketball offseason...Grew up in Scottsdale and attended Desert Mountain High School...Attended Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz. (2008-09), and Arizona State University (2010)...Was 15-1 in two seasons with Yavapai...Helped the Sun Devils reach the College World Series in 2010, going 10-3 with a 4.23 ERA...As of 2020, is one of seven D-backs to have played high school, college (university or junior college) and the Majors all in Arizona, joining Jake Barrett, Kole Calhoun, Tuffy Gosewisch, Cody Ransom, Josh Rojas and Ed Vosberg...Spent four seasons (2015-18) with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), going 48-32 with a 3.86 ERA (313 ER in 729.2 IP) in 119 games (118 starts)…His Wyverns manager was Trey Hillman, who led the Royals from 2008-10... Led the SK Wyverns to the 2018 Korean Series title, going 12-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 28 starts in the KBO League...While in the country, he tried a lot of interesting food items, most notably intestine and cow's blood...His dad, Tom, was the GM of the Chicago Ritz-Carlton and others within the Four Seasons Hotel corporation for more than 35 years before retirement...His brother, Reid, played five Minor League seasons as a pitcher in the Astros' (2006-09) and White Sox' (2010) organizations...Is an avid sneaker enthusiast and owns over 100 pairs of Nikes...In 2019, he had a pair of Nike Kobe X Blue Lagoon sneakers turned into a pair of baseball spikes...His favorite pairs of shoes are his Air Jordan 1 Retro Off-White (upper left) and the Air Jordan 3 Retro Seoul...Selected to pitch for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, marking the first time participating with a national team at any level...Went 0-1 with an 8.31 ERA (four ER in 4.1 IP) over two games...Started the fourth game vs. Colombia and championship vs. Japan...Competed in the Waste Management Open ProAm in 2024 and 2025...In 2025, was paired with Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps and pros Justin Thomas and Nick Dunlap.
2024
Went 5-1 with a 4.17 ERA (38 R-36 ER in 77.2 IP) and 65 strikeouts over 13 starts in his sixth season with the D-backs...Placed on the 15-day injured list (right shoulder strain) on April 23…Transferred to the 60-day injured list on May 2…Reinstated from the 60-day injured list (right shoulder strain) on Aug. 11...Since Aug. 11, his 13.86 strikes looking above average (SLAA) and his 111.5 pct. strikes looking rate vs. Average (SL+) were the highest among NL starters...Held opponents to a .099 AVG (7-for-71) with 19 strikeouts off his changeup...For the first time in his career, threw six different pitches 10+ times each...Held opponents to two or fewer runs with runners in scoring position in nine of his 13 starts (.217 AVG; 13-for-60)...Limited lefties to a .234 AVG (33-for-141) with 23 strikeouts…Held lefties to five or fewer hits in 12 of his 13 starts...Recorded his 700th strikeout on April 15 vs. Cubs, becoming just the eighth D-back to achieve the feat.
2023
Went 12-8 with a 3.29 ERA (65 ER in 177.2 IP) in his fifth season with Arizona...Set a career high with 187 strikeouts (previous: 177 in 2022)...Ranked among NL leaders in ERA (fifth), opponent average (sixth, .222), win percentage (ninth, .600) and WHIP (10th, 1.19)...Finished seventh among National League starting pitchers with a 3.8 bWAR...Ranked among D-backs' starters in franchise history (min. 50 starts) in wins (T-fifth, 48), WHIP (seventh, 1.22), innings pitched (seventh, 750.2), strikeouts (eighth, 681) and ERA (ninth, 3.80)...Is one of 11 pitchers in MLB to toss four seasons of 150.0+ innings since 2019...Recorded his 500th career strikeout on April 6 vs. Dodgers...Made his 100th career start with the D-backs on April 11 and finished the season with 127 starts, the sixth-most starts in franchise history...Collected a career-high six strikeouts "looking" on May 28 vs. Red Sox (previous: 5, Sept. 20, 2019 @ Padres), one shy of tying the franchise record (seven, Wade Miley/2014 & Dan Haren/2009) and most by a starting pitcher in 2023 (seven, Zach Eflin/TB)...Tied a career high in strikeouts with 12 on Sept. 4 vs. Rockies (2x; last: 8/24/23 vs. CIN) … marked the second time in 2023 striking out 11+ batters vs. Rockies (also: 11 on Aug. 14 @ Coors Field)...Opponents hit .180 (30-for-167) with 51 strikeouts off his changeup. Went 7-3 with a 4.07 ERA (38 ER in 84.0 IP) in 15 road starts...Placed on the 15-day injured list (right calf inflammation) on June 27 and reinstated on July 25...POSTSEASON: Went 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA (six ER in 24.0 IP), 0.83 WHIP and 28 strikeouts in four starts … allowed one run or fewer in three of his four games and led the team in wins, strikeouts and WHIP...In Game 2 of the World Series @ Rangers, became the fourth D-backs pitcher (five times overall) to allow one run or fewer over 7.0+ innings in a World Series start (also: Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling [2x] and Miguel Batista… additionally, his nine strikeouts tied Schilling for second-most strikeouts in a World Series game by a D-backs starter behind Johnson’s 11 strikeouts...Also in Game 2 of the World Series, retired the first 11 batters faced, surpassing the record for most consecutive batters retired by a D-backs pitcher to start a World Series game (previous: 10 by Randy Johnson on Oct. 28, 2001 in Game 2 vs. Yankees) [source: Elias Sports Bureau].
2022
Went 13-8 with a 3.37 ERA (75 ER in 200.1 IP) in his fourth season with the D-backs… set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts (177)... Had the third-most pickoffs (four) in the Majors behind Robbie Ray/SEA (six) and Taijuan Walker/NYM (five)....Led all Major League pitchers with 116.1 innings from July 1-end of season....Matched a career-best 21.0-inning scoreless streak from July 28-Aug. 6 (also: Sept. 22, 2021-April 20, 2022)....Went 8-3 with a 3.75 ERA (40 ER in 96.0 IP) in 16 road starts...On April 1, agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension through 2024 with a team option for 2025...Became the first D-backs pitcher with 200.0+ innings since Patrick Corbin and Zack Greinke in 2018....Was one of eight pitchers in the Majors to toss at least 200.0 innings in 2022...Selected to pitch for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic… marked the first time he was selected to participate with a USA national team at any level.
2021
Named the D-backs’ Most Valuable Pitcher by the Arizona chapter of the BBWAA after going 7-11 with a 4.44 ERA (78 ER in 158.0 IP) and 130 strikeouts in his third season with the D-backs...12 strikeouts on May 20 vs. Dodgers were a career high…became one of six D-backs pitchers with 12+ strikeouts and no walks (last: Patrick Corb2in in 2018) and one of four overall to do so as an opponent @ Dodger Stadium (also: Curt Schilling/ARI, Ray Sadecki/SF and Robbie Ray/ARI)... Had a career-best five-game winning streak from June 21-July 24.
2020
Limited to just five starts before undergoing season-ending thoracic outlet surgery…was 3-2 with a 2.59 ERA (9 ER in 31.1 IP)...At the time of his injury, ranked among NL leaders in fewest walks per 9.0 IP (2nd, 1.44), strikeout-to-walk ratio (6th, 5.80), wins (T-5th, 3), ERA (10th, 2.59) and WHIP (10th, 0.99)...Allowed one run or fewer in three of his five starts...Averaged 1.44 walks per 9.0 IP, down from 2.80 in 2019...Was scratched from his start on Aug. 24 and placed on the 10-day injured list (right shoulder impingement).
2019
Went 13-14 with a 4.42 ERA (90 ER in 183.1 IP), .260 opponent average and 158 strikeouts in 32 starts in his first Major League season with Arizona...Led Major League rookies in strikeouts, ranked second in innings, was tied for second in wins and ranked fourth in ERA…was the second D-back rookie to lead the Majors in strikeouts (also: Brandon Webb in 2003)...Was the 17th rookie hurler since 2000 with 32 starts in a rookie season, and the first since Kenta Maeda/LAD in 2016...His 158 strikeouts were second all-time by a D-backs rookie, behind only Webb in 2003 (172)…also ranked second among D-backs rookies all-time in innings pitched to Wade Miley (194.2 in 2012).
2018
Led the SK Wyverns to the 2018 Korean Series title, going 12-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 28 starts of the KBO League...Made 2 starts in the Korean Series vs. Doosan Bears, earning the victory in Game 3…started Game 6 and held the Bears hitless in the first 5.1 innings...Ranked among KBO starting pitchers in strikeouts per 9.0 IP (2nd), WHIP (1.26, 6th), ERA (7th), and wins (8th).
2013
Split the season between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, earning a June promotion…in a combined 28 games (26 starts), went 13-10 with a 3.64 ERA (158.1-IP, 64-ER)…dropped his ERA by early a run in Durham, from 4.15 in Montgomery to 3.19…ranked 3rd among Rays farmhands with 13 wins and 5th with 111 SO…pitched for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League…in 9 apps in the AFL, went 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA (11-IP, 6-ER).
2012
Compiled a 3.28 ERA (88.1-IP, 35-ER) in 32 apps with Montgomery…went 2-3 with a 3.21 ERA (42-IP, 15-IP) in 9 games as a starter…went 6-0 with a 3.88 ERA (46.1-IP, 20-ER) in 23 relief apps.
2011
In his first full season, finished with the 9thbest ERA in the Rays organization at 3.28 (129-IP, 47-ER)…led the Stone Crabs with 129 IP and was 2nd with 8 wins, 1 behind Alex Colome.
2010
Appeared in 12 games between Short-A Hudson Valley (7 apps) and Class-A Bowling Green (5 apps)…allowed 5 ER in 21.1 IP for Hudson Valley, walking 5 and striking out 19.
