White Sox draft pick Jared Kelley motivated by slipping to second round

The right-hander throws free-and-easy upper-90s heat. “He’s going to be exciting to watch,” scouting director Mike Shirley says.

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White Sox draft pick Jared Kelley pitched for Team USA’s 18U team. (Courtesy Chicago White Sox)

Jared Kelley said his biggest thrills on an athletic field were pitching for the Team USA 18U squad in 2018 and helping them win the Pan American championship, and before that as a freshman at Refugio (Texas) High School, making the long snap for the game-winning field goal in the Class 2A state championship game at AT&T Stadium.

The White Sox figure that the 6-3, 230-pound 18-year-old right-hander drafted in the second round this month has bigger thrills to experience. He added one Saturday by signing with the Sox for a $3 million bonus.

“Just the athleticism, an elite fastball at 95-99 [mph],” scouting director Mike Shirley gushed the night Kelley was drafted on June 11. “The breaking ball has consistently developed with more shape and more depth. And the changeup is a real weapon.

“He’s going to be exciting to watch.”

Kelley was already a backup quarterback as a freshman when he made that long snap, and he would go on to pass for 54 touchdowns and more than 3,000 yards as a sophomore, which is a big deal in the state of Texas. That is why his decision to quit football and focus on baseball before his junior year was key.

“Especially where I’m from,” Kelley said. “We’re a football-driven town, we lost [in the championship game] at state [Kelley’s sophomore year].”

Kelley recalls going into his coach and athletic director’s office “and telling them I was going to focus on baseball.”

That had to sting. Refugio football coach Jason Herring told The Athletic that Kelley could have played in the NFL had he stuck with football.

However, “the opportunity to play professional baseball was right there in front of me, and I had to do what it took,” Kelley said. “It was tough at the time, but I don’t regret it.”

It was bad for Bobcats football but good for Kelley, who had touched 91 mph at a TCU camp as a freshman and would develop a power arm so good that MLB Pipeline and Baseball America touted him as the 12th-best prospect in a draft of collegians and prep players. A fastball that touched 99 mph with an effortless delivery, coupled with an excellent changeup was responsible.

That he slipped all the way to the Sox in the second round and 47th overall — other teams knew he would command first-round money — was puzzling to Kelley, but it worked out well, as the Sox signed him well above his $1.58 million slot value.

“It was just a little disappointing,” said Kelley, who was watching the draft with his family and girlfriend, expecting to celebrate in the first round. “You would love to hear your name in the first round of the MLB Draft. Nobody knew what was going on. We didn’t know how to react, or what had happened.”

But Kelley insists his head hit the pillow wrapped around a good frame of mind.

“We knew it would take just one team,” he said. “The White Sox did it. I was good.”

The Sox announced his deal Saturday.

“This is a moment I’ve been dreaming about for as long as I can remember and still can’t believe it’s real,” Kelley said in a statement released by the team. “None of this would be possible without the love and support from my mom, dad, brother and the many coaches and teammates I’ve had along the way. I’d like to thank the Chicago White Sox for taking a chance on me and I promise to give you, and White Sox fans everywhere, everything I’ve got.”

With a chip on his shoulder.

“You don’t get picked and you think teams miss out on you, so I take it as motivation,” he said. “Go out and prove myself, show the White Sox what I can do.”

Shirley can’t wait to see what Kelley can do, likely starting with the Instructional League in the fall.

“Our staff considered him with the No. 11 pick [which the Sox used on Tennessee lefty Garrett Crochet],” Shirley said.

“He has an exceptional ability to control his delivery,” Shirley said this week. “He doesn’t try to effort the baseball and get it up to high velocity. And [he’s] a tremendous worker.

“In this environment where everybody is trying to throw hard, a lot of guys are throwing with a lot of effort. He just throws hard and controls his effort. That’s a really intriguing thing.

“And you get to know a kid, what he’s all about, he became really intriguing.”

That easy velocity, which has touched 99 mph, “it’s kind of a cool deal,” Kelley said.

“Like who doesn’t want to throw 100 miles per hour? I’ve never heard of a baseball player who doesn’t want to. But I try not to think of it too much. My body and arm are staying healthy, that’s the main thing.” 

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