Carson Kelly Catches On With Cardinals

Best Player: C Carson Kelly

Already considered a gifted defensive catcher and one of the finest receivers in the minors, Kelly added the offensive production long expected. Before forcing a callup to the majors, he hit .283/.375/.459 with 10 home runs for a Triple-A Memphis team that would win 91 games.

The 2012 second-round pick came to the Cardinals as a high school third baseman, but they saw his future behind the plate. Kelly’s bat took a backseat to being a backstop, but as he grew comfortable and confident behind the plate, his gap-to-gap swing caught up.

Kelly is arguably the best all-around prospect the Cardinals have, especially when factoring how teammates and pitchers gravitate toward him. The club plans to have him back up fixture Yadier Molina in 2018 as the heir apparent.

Best Pitcher: RHP Jack Flaherty

His frame, his athleticism and his feel for four pitches were always the dots that scouts connected to imagine Flaherty as a top-of-rotation talent. The production arrived this summer.

Before debuting in the majors, Flaherty went 14-4, 2.18 in 25 starts for Double-A Springfield and Memphis. He had more strikeouts (147) than hits allowed (120) and flashed an increase in velocity, to the mid-90s mph, that played off two distinct breaking balls and a changeup.

Flaherty’s fastball has some cut to it, and he can be assertive in the zone with all of his pitches instead of inviting walks and trouble by nibbling at the black. The Cardinals cleared a spot for him in the big league rotation by trading Mike Leake to see if Flaherty could be their No. 5 starter next season.

Keep An Eye On: OF Oscar Mercado

If the past two years have schooled the Cardinals on anything in the Rule 5 draft it’s that opponents (read: Padres, who snagged Luis Perdomo in 2015 and Allen Cordoba in 2016) will reach into the lowest levels for high-ceiling talent.

Enter Mercado, who emerged in 2017 as one of the team’s deftest fielders in center (alongside Magneuris Sierra) and the kind of athletic threat the team has sought. The 22-year-old hit .287/.341/.428 and led the Texas League with 38 stolen bases.

Freed from the stress of shortstop, where his struggles in the field corroded his offense, Mercado felt he was able to play aggressive, in all facets. He must be protected from the Rule 5 this fall, and with a thicket of outfielders ahead of him, the Cardinals have an intriguing choice.