Cards Looking To Pair Bat With Glove

ST. LOUIS–There was a time, before he ever donned what manager Mike Matheny refers to as “the tools of intelligence,” that Carson Kelly’s best tool was at the plate not behind it.

This is the season he’ll try to reconnect with his bat.

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“I think defense was the main priority,” Kelly said. “Focusing on that and putting the hitting a little bit in the backseat, and now that that has kind of taken shape I think is going to be where more focus is going to be this offseason and going forward. I feel like I’m right there.”

Kelly hit .219/.263/.332 at high Class A Palm Beach, where hitters are often swallowed up. The 21-year-old catcher brings a .239 average into fourth full season in the minors, but only the third in his life as a catcher. In need of fortifying that area of the depth chart, the Cardinals repurposed the Oregon native as a teen and asked him to move from third base to catcher, where his agility and arm strength was a fit.

Kelly was rewarded after his second season as a catcher with a Rawlings Gold Glove award as the finest at his position in all of the minors.

“I was just trying to soak up as much information come spring training and then going into the season trying to be the best catcher I can be,” Kelly said. “I think at the beginning it was technique. Now it’s understanding the game and what the staff needs and which guy needs a certain way. I think the mental side is what I’ve really really advanced on this year.”

In 2012, the Cardinals selected Kelly in the second round and lured him away from a college commitment. He had charted well as a prep pitcher, but scouts also liked his line-drive swing and the loft he had that hinted at power potential. Kelly was 17 at the time he was drafted, and the Cardinals saw a chance to create a catcher and now that his glove is golden they want him to find that bat.

REDBIRD CHIRPS

• The Cardinals will bring 22 non-roster players to spring training, including former first-round pick Luke Weaver and two power-potential infielders, third baseman Patrick Wisdom and second baseman Jacob Wilson.

• Alex Reyes, the team’s top pitching prospect, has been invited to an early prospect camp, though he will be unable to participate in any major league games this spring due to his suspension for a second positive test for marijuana use.