Red Sox starting pitcher Joe Kelly has reiterated a few times this offseason he plans on winning the AL Cy Young award in 2015. While manager John Farrell likes Kelly's confidence, he wants him to focus on simpler goals, per MLB.com.
"He made a pretty bold statement this winter, a very bold one," Farrell said. "I love the fact that he believes in himself that strong, but I tried to boil it down to something more simple, and pitch as many innings as you can. That will drive your approach and take care of everything else. If that is your main goal of pitching the highest number of quality innings as possible, then you're going to be around late for decisions in games, you're going to drive your workouts in between starts to uphold that."
Farrell admitted Kelly could be a key to the rotation's success this season.
"The raw stuff is there," Farrell said of the rotation. "(Clay) Buchholz staying healthy certainly goes a long way to that. Joe Kelly's growth will have to take a step forward. … But he has probably the best stuff on our staff and the capability to be that type of pitcher."