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MMN Interview With The Versatile Ty Kelly

By Michael Mayer

January 28, 2016 2 Comments

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Earlier this offseason the Mets signed utility guy Ty Kelly to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Kelly is a 27-year old righty thrower and a switch-hitter that played the entire 2015 season in AAA splitting time between the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals organizations. He was a 13th round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2009.

Ty hit .226/.322/.296 in 371 at bats while walking 52 times compared to 53 strikeouts last season. He played 15 games at second base, 29 at third, 14 in center field, 39 in left field and 22 in right field.

He is a career .275/.379/.375 hitter in seven minor league seasons. He has been a midseason All-Star four times in the minor leagues (09, 11, 12, 13). He has more walks (486) than strikeouts (484) in his career. His best season came in 2012 when he hit .327/.425/.476 with 29 doubles, 11 homeruns, and 70 RBI while getting at bats in High-A, AA, and AAA.

Kiley McDaniel from FanGraphs had this to say about him before the 2015 season, “Kelly is big league ready as a utility guy”. He was listed by Baseball America as the 30th best prospect in the Baltimore Orioles farm system after the 2012 season. BA also said he had the best strike zone discipline in Orioles minors after 2011 season.

Kelly will battle for playing time in the crowded Las Vegas 51’s infield that will include some combination of Gavin Cecchini, Matt Reynolds, Dilson Herrera, T.J. Rivera, Eric Campbell, Danny Muno, and recently signed Niuman Romero. The outfield depth chart in Vegas isn’t as crowded with the guaranteed cogs being Brandon Nimmo and Travis Taijeron. I think Kelly will see himself in the outfield for Vegas quite often.

MMN – Thanks again for taking the time to answer. Welcome to the Mets organization! What was part of the intrigue of coming to the New York Mets?

Ty – The Mets have an amazing core of young players that seemed to put it all together last year when they made their run into the postseason.  Being a part of that is a great opportunity.

MMN – You are known for your versatility, how many different gloves do you own and how many do you take with you on the road?

Ty –  I bring a 1st baseman’s glove, infield game glove, infield practice glove, and outfield glove.  I also have a catcher’s thumb protecter from Spring Training last year when I worked out as an emergency catcher.

MMN –  Do you have a position you are more comfortable playing or do you enjoying playing all over the field?

Ty –  I like playing all over the field because it keeps things fresh.  My favorite position to play is probably 2nd base because you can show off the most range with the shorter throws.  But playing everywhere keeps me focused and motivated because it’s a new challenge every day.

MMN – You are also a talented singer and guitar player, have you written a song about the Mets yet?

Ty –  I haven’t yet, but if they give me my first call-up to the big leagues I promise I’ll write one.

MMN – What have you been doing this offseason to prepare for the upcoming year? Anything different because of being in the Mets organization?

Ty –  I have a pretty good routine at this point in my career for my off seasons.  I lift weights 4 times a week along with doing an aerobic-type workout and of course all of the baseball activities.

MMN – Who is the toughest pitcher you faced last year?

Ty –  I made a couple starts in Spring Training against the Mets last year and I faced both Matt Harvey and Bartolo Colon.  They were difficult to face in very different ways.

MMN – What is your favorite minor league city to play in? Have you had a chance to visit NYC yet?

Ty – I always seem to have success in Salt Lake City.  It is a favorable field for hitters and I seem to always be able to take advantage of that.  It also is just a really nice city in general and has a great backdrop for a minor league town. I visited NYC in 2009 when I played against Staten Island in the NY Penn League.  I took the ferry across the water to Manhattan and got a small taste of New York.

MMN – What would you say your strengths and weaknesses as a player are?

Ty – My biggest strength is my versatility.  I can play multiple positions and switch hit.  People get very specialized in baseball and I like being the guy that can do it all.  I always believe you can get better at everything on the field but the one thing I want to work on is consistency.  Tons of guys can play but special players can do it all the time.  The baseball season is a grind as far as travel and playing everyday, especially in the minors, so being consistent can be very difficult.

MMN – You have a career 0.00 ERA, what kind of stuff you have as a pitcher? Velo?

Ty –  In the one inning I threw a couple years ago, I got 3 outs on 5 fastballs.  I went to the bullpen and warmed up with about 5 pitches but ended up only throwing fastballs.  Hitters facing position players just try to hit home runs so they get themselves out.  I hit 90 on the stadium gun but I’d like to think I have some more in the tank!

MMN – Thank you again and good luck this season.

Here is a video of Kelly making a diving stop against the Mets during spring training last year. You can hear some of his music on Youtube.

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