Young catcher biding time
JUPITER — Another chapter of Carson Kelly’s gradual evolution into the Cardinals’ future catcher came this spring, when he clashed with a stubborn umpire about a shifting strike zone.
Kelly would have preferred to avoid the offifficial for a few days.
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was thrilled to fifind out the two would meet again in the next Grapefruit League game.
Avoidance isn’t an option when the guy you agitated squats inches behind you for hours. Time to make up. And fast.
Kelly’s list of jobs was about to grow again.
“B e i n g a p o l i t i c i a n , ” Matheny said. “It was fun to watch. He did a great job with it. That’s part of the art of the position as well. There’s just so much that goes into that spot, and he’s got the right makeup to fifigure it out as quick as anybody.”
Kelly has welcomed many new roles as he works toward the one he longs for, a title he tasted for a moment during his Car dinals at Ast ros, 6:05 p.m., Ball park of the Palm Beaches
fifirst promotion to the majors last season.
“I believe I’m ready,” Kelly said Saturday morning. “With the development and the hard work that I put in, I feel like I can play at the major league level right now.”
It’s not that simple, and he knows it.
The Cardinals have the benefifit (and challenge) of employing both the top catching prospect in baseball in Kelly and the best defensive catcher of his generation and potential Hall of Famer in Yadier Molina. It’s a nice problem to have. But it comes with clear challenges that will only become more complex as long as the two remain in the same organization. An obvious transition looms. How and when it happens are the hard parts.
Turn on the World Baseball Classic and see if Molina’s tank looks empty. He turns 35 in June and has expressed an interest in signing a contract extension that would let him fifinish his career in St. Louis. Is that three years? Four?
“He’s playing at a very high level right now, and he always has,” Kelly said of his mentor. “The passion that he has, it’s awesome to see. It’s another thing to learn.”
Meanwhile, Kelly would probably start for a quarter of MLB teams this season. And Matheny believes the Cardinals would have a “good chance” to win games with Kelly behind the plate this season. The 22-year-old converted third baseman has climbed quickly.
“He’s teachable, and he’s hungry to learn, and he has the aptitude to take whatever we see,” Matheny said. “All of those are a benefifit for him. That’s why he took what probably should be a longer learning curve and has made so quick of an adjustment. He’s been getting some great compliments from our pitching staff, and that’s usually one of the best indicators of where a guy is. They really enjoy throwing to him. He’s going out of his way to making sure he’s doing what they need him to do.”
The Cardinals’ plan became obvious when catcher Eric Fryer returned to the organization on a minor league deal this spring. He will be Molina’s backup while Kelly stockpiles starts with Triple-A Memphis. Should Molina need to miss any signifificant amount of time, up comes Kelly.