Pirates Top 30 Prospects No. 21: Antwone Kelly Looking to Be Fourth MLB Pitcher From Aruba
This is one in a series of stories breaking down PBN’s Top 30 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.
Only four pitchers born in Aruba have ever taken a big-league mound.
Calvin Maduro was the first after making his MLB debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1996. He spent five seasons in the big leagues with the Phillies and Baltimore Orioles.
Sidney Ponson amassed 91 wins between seven teams in a career that spanned 12 seasons. Radhames Dykhoff pitched one game with the Orioles in 1998.
Pirates prospect Antwone Kelly is hoping to become the fourth pitcher to hail from the small island within the the Kingdom of the Netherlands located just north off the coast of Venezuela.
Kelly signed with the Pirates in January 2021 and has spent five seasons in the Pirates’ system.
He began his professional career in the Dominican Summer League and went 1-2 with a 4.14 ERA across a dozen starts and struck out 39 batters in 37 innings.
The following season, the right-hander made 10 appearances/two starts in the Florida Coast League and posted a 2.31 ERA with 29 punch outs in 23.1 innings.
Kelly began the 2023 season back in the FCL before he was bumped to the Low-A Bradenton Marauders, where he made a pair of relief appearances. Combined between the two levels, Kelly was 5-1 with a 2.89 ERA across 14 appearances/four starts. He didn’t allow a home run, walked 18 batters and struck out 53 in 43.2 innings.
Kelly took a step back in his first full season with the Marauders in 2024. He finished the year with a disappointing 1-6 record and a mediocre 4.43 ERA in 16 appearances/14 starts. He allowed twice as many home runs (eight) in 69 innings than he did combined between the first three seasons of his career (four home runs, 104 innings).
But Kelly rebounded in the 2025 season, splitting time between the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers and the Double-A Altoona Curve. In 14 starts to begin the season in the hitter-friendly South Atlantic League, Kelly owned a 3.03 ERA while holding opponents to 41 hits in 59.1 innings. He walked 17, struck out 70 and was named the league’s Pitcher of the Week for May 18.
After his promotion to Double-A, Kelly helped lead the Curve to the postseason by going 2-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 11 starts.
The 22-year-old stands only 5-foot-10, but he’s proven he can get results with a four-pitch mix that includes a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup and sinker.
If he continues at his current pace, Kelly will indeed become the fourth Aruban pitcher to reach the big leagues and the first since Ponson last took the mound in 2009.
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