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Carson Kelly’s 2021 hot start: Future breakout player or small sample size mirage?

When the Diamondbacks traded franchise superstar Paul Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals, one of the key players coming back was catcher Carson Kelly. In his first year with the Diamondbacks, Kelly put up a very solid .245/.348/.478 triple slash (107 wRC+) with 19 doubles and 18 home runs in 365 plate appearances. At that point, it looked the D-backs came out ahead as they found their franchise catcher for the next five years.

With Kelly now in place as the team’s primary starting catcher, the expectations is he would be a solid bottom of the order bat who can extend the lineup.