An 11th round draft pick of the New York Mets in the 1994 MLB draft, John Kelly is one of the most experienced and accomplished pitchers in Independent Baseball.  With stops in the Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners Organizations, Kelly has climbed as high as AAA and played in far-off places such as Taiwan, Italy and Mexico.

He joined the Rox in the middle of the 2006 season via a trade with the New Jersey Jackals.  He finished the 2006 season with an 8-1 record and a 1.92 ERA with the Rox.  In 2007, Kelly was selected to Baseball America's All-Independent Team.  He finished that season with a 7-2 record and a 2.27 ERA with the Rox.  Kelly returned with the team for the 2008 campaign and was brilliant once again, finishing 9-5 with a 2.56 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 126 innings.

In 2009, Kelly's most recent season with the Rox, the veteran went 2-3 with a 6.23 ERA in 30 innings. Kelly pitched for the Worcester Tornadoes of the Can-Am League in 2010, going 9-5 with a 3.61 ERA in 107 innings of work.