Education
Kelly attended Westview High School in Beaverton, Oregon.
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Carson Kelly
Edit ProfileCareer
He plays in Minor League Baseball for the Saint Louis Cardinals" organization. In 2011, his junior year, he appeared in a national high school all-star game. Kelly committed to the University of Oregon to play college baseball for the Oregon Ducks.
The Saint Louis Cardinals selected Kelly in the second round, with the 86th overall selection, of the 2012 MLB 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 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 York–Penn League.
In 2013, Kelly and Gary LaRocque, the Cardinals" director of player development, discussed his switching positions to catcher. Kelly agreed to the switch, and began to transition during the 2013-2014 offseason. He played for Peoria in 2014, and batted.248 with six home runs in 98 games.
He began the 2015 season with the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League.
Achievements
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He was named the Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012. He also won gold medals in the 2011 World Youth Baseball Championship and an under-18 international tournament. He won the 2015 minor leagues Rawlings Gold Glove Award for catchers and was ranked the tenth-best prospect in the Cardinals system prior to the 2016 season, per Baseball America.
