BIOGRAPHY
Carson Kelly was born July 14, 1994, in Chicago, Illinois. He is a catcher in the MLB.
The St. Louis Cardinals selected Kelly as a third baseman in the second round and 86th overall selection of the 2012 amateur draft. He signed with the Cardinals, receiving a $1.6 million signing bonus. He began his career with the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. He hit .225 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs in 56 games for Johnson City. In 2013, he was promoted to the Peoria Chiefs of the Class A Midwest League. He struggled with Peoria, and was demoted to the State College Spikes of the Class A-Short Season New YorkâPenn League. In 113 games between the two clubs he batted .257 with six home runs and 45 RBIs.
MLB.com ranked Kelly as St. Louis's third best prospect going into the 2018 season. He began the season with Memphis and received his first 2018 promotion to the major leagues on May 6 when Yadier Molina was placed on the disabled list.
Kelly entered the 2019 season as Arizona's starting catcher. On March 30, 2019, he hit a game-winning RBI in his debut as a Diamondback. On May 4, 2019, he hit his first career home run. Kelly slashed .245/.348/.478 with 18 home runs and 47 RBIs over 111 games for the season. His 18 home runs tied Miguel Montero for the most home runs hit by a Diamondbacks catcher in a single season. He returned as Arizona's first choice catcher for the shortened 2020 season. On August 9, Kelly pitched a scoreless inning during a blowout against the San Diego Padres.
Kelly appeared in a majority of games at the catching position in 2020, splitting time with Stephen Vogt but getting most of the September starts. In 39 games, Kelly batted .221 with five home runs and 19 RBIs.
On January 13, 2023, Kelly agreed to a one-year, $4.275 million contract with the Diamondbacks, avoiding salary arbitration.
In his free time, Carson Kelly likes to golf.
