The term 'system quarterback' gets thrown around a lot. Y'know, your Sam Darnolds, your Geno Smiths, guys you just plug into any coach's arsenal and you get by. I think 'system catcher' should be used around as much, because that definitely is a thing. Somebody that can be your primary catcher, and be a good choice for it, but can jive with any old organization and still do the same things. Jason Kendall was one of those for a while, he was never the star but you could throw him back there and you'd be great. Brad Ausmus falls into that category as well. And it's different from your 'career backup' guys because there's enough talent to carry the position rather than filling the role. Victor Caratini is trying to be this 'system catcher' type but is still very much a 'career backup'. Robinson Chirinos and Martin Maldonado flirted with it but both hit a wall right when it was gonna happen.
Carson Kelly's success tells me that, like Yan Gomes before him, he was lucky enough to wind up in Chicago, who seem to be very good at developing 'system catchers', as they've done this with Miguel Montero, Christian Bethancourt and Gomes. Kelly was in danger of becoming a career backup, but last year he had a great start with Detroit, then got swapped to Texas to back up Jonah Heim. And he was SUPPOSED to be backing up Miguel Amaya, who the Cubs were able to develop somewhat last year. But, like...when the backup catcher hits for the cycle in April, maybe the wrong guy is the backup. So the Cubs started playing Kelly more, eventually gave him the 1 spot, and now Kelly's probably looking at an ASG nod tomorrow night.
That the longtime backstop is suddenly having his best season isn't a complete surprise. His D-Backs years were solid, and sullied by injuries. In 2019, Kelly was a strong, defensively-solid catching option with the occasional offensive perk. He wasn't a team-changing guy, but he made his starts and didn't steer you wrong. The injuries just let the D-Backs lose sight of that, and by 2022 he wasn't as reliable, so in came Gabriel Moreno [who, uh...is injured]. I think it's the case of fellow system catcher Travis d'Arnaud, a guy that had promise with a team that needed him but just couldn't stay healthy, then figured everything out after finding the right organizational fit. And Chicago seems to be that for Carson Kelly, as he's currently hitting .264 with 10 homers, 30 RBIs and some excellent catching numbers. He's also got an .858 OPS, which is a large step upward for him.
The theme of this Cubs team seems to be guys that struggled elsewhere suddenly clicking in this one place. There's an entire bullpen full of former starters who are killing it as relief options this year [Chris Flexen, Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller]. One of the team's best hitters is Michael Busch, who was traded by the Dodgers, and is now hitting .288 with 17 homers and 55 RBIs as the team's starting 1st baseman. Four of the stars of this Cubs team are guys who took forever to really get going in Chicago, so that when they did it was all the more exciting. And one of them's leaping to superstardom this year.
The Cubs, for the first time since arguably 2016, are finally the team of circumstance again. The team of everything happening for the right reasons. Yes, Taillon just got hurt, and I worry about what Cade Horton and Ben Brown are gonna do now, but the success of Carson Kelly is proof that things can just come together on this team now. And that's gonna be important down the line.
Coming Tomorrow- A rookie for the Astros who has immediately shifted to making me sad.
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