Let's turn back the clock to July 27th.

It was a sweltering night in Boston, and Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Joe Kelly, nursing a 2-6 record and a staggering 5.94 ERA at the time, had just been shellacked again by an opposing team, roughed up for five runs on seven hits in just 3.1 innings of work in a loss to the Chicago White Sox.

It was the eighth time out of Kelly's last nine appearances that the Red Sox had lost the contest, and the 27-year-old could feel the criticism raining down from all corners of Red Sox Nation, the Boston faithful chiding former general manager Ben Cherington for making the deal last summer which sent reliable rotation fixture John Lackey to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Kelly and position player Allen Craig, whose value has plummeted sensationally since moving to the Red Sox organization.

Relying overtly on his fastball, which despite it's velocity, fails to provide Kelly with the means to fool batters, the California native was struggling every single time he took the mound, a demotion to Triple-A Pawtucket accomplishing little to help him regain his putaway material.

However, it turns out that all Kelly needed to do was place an emphasis on using his admirable offspeed arsenal at a greater rate. With catcher Ryan Hanigan putting a premium on limiting Kelly's fastball use, which has dwindled significantly in the month of August.

Per BrooksBaseball.net, Kelly opted for his fastball on a remarkably high 72.1 percent of his pitches in June, a month in which his ERA stood at 5.23, and 70.7 percent of his pitches in May, a month in which his ERA stood at a horrendous 6.53.

This month, however, Kelly is using his fastball just 60.1 percent of the time, his lowest figure in any month this season?

The results are staggering, as Kelly is 5-0 with a 3.03 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in his last five starts, down from a 8.51 ERA and a 1.7 WHIP in his two July starts.

His rate of strikeouts per nine innings has been positively affected, up to 7.9 this month as a result of him utilizing his offspeed stuff on two-strike counts, while his walk rate per nine innings, at just 2.7, has been lessened as well.

While yes, Kelly's fastball, which can reach speed of up to 98-99 MPH, is certainly lethal when used at the correct time, the importance of him diversifying his pitch selection and utilize his changeup and curveball is crucial, and it will allow him to stave off any chance of being demoted to the bullpen in the near future.

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About the author
Liam OBrien
Just a Boston man who loves sports. Oh, and writing is kind of a priority.