2025 Player Outlook
Kelly has a strong arm behind the dish, and overall, was an above-average defender last season. In 91 games in 2024, he hit nine home runs with a .374 SLG, but his numbers took a bit of a hit after being sent over to Texas. Looking at numbers from last season, Miguel Amaya really struggled against LHP (.163 AVG, .205 wOBA), whereas Kelly excelled in that department (.302 AVG, .357 wOBA). He may find himself on the small side of a platoon behind the dish, but if he can push his fly ball rate north of 40 percent, he could be in a good spot for some power production in the Windy City, and potentially on the fantasy radar should something happen to Amaya.
Player News
Carson Kelly is not in the lineup for Saturday’s contest against the Diamondbacks.
Kelly has been hotter than the surface of the sun of late with Friday’s two-homer explosion raising his full-season OPS to a surreal 1.675 mark. The 30-year-old backstop has never showcased this level of elite offensive firepower previously, so we’re anticipating some regression. However, that doesn’t mean his transformation into a viable mixed-league catching option isn’t real. Kelly should be rostered in all fantasy formats by this point after hitting .419 with six homers and 18 RBI in just 11 contests. He’s not going to catch every single day for obvious workload reasons, but he’ll be an impactful fantasy contributor when he’s behind the plate for Chicago.
Carson Kelly launched his fifth and sixth homers of the year to drive in five runs in the Cubs’ wild 13-11 win over the Diamondbacks on Friday.
The game was anything but wild for 6 1/2 innings, but after Corbin Burnes exited, the Cubs scored five times in the bottom of the seventh, giving them a 7-1 lead. The Diamondbacks responded with 10 in the top of the eighth, which included a grand slam from Eugenio Suárez and a three-run shot from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. However, the Diamondbacks were trying to avoid most of their top relievers today, and they let Bryce Jarvis and Joe Mantiply combine to give up six runs in the bottom of the eighth. Kelly, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki all homered in the frame. Ryan Pressly then calmly set Arizona down in the top of the ninth. Kelly is currently hitting an absurd .419/.578/1.097 in 45 plate appearances. Even though he debuted nine years ago in 2016, just these 11 games along have taken his career OPS from .681 to .701.
Carson Kelly (wrist) is back in the lineup for Wednesday’s series finale against the Padres.
Kelly is back behind the dish after missing a pair of games following an early exit from Sunday’s showdown against the Dodgers with a wrist contusion. It doesn’t appear to be a serious concern moving forward.
Carson Kelly (wrist) remains out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Padres.
It’ll be Miguel Amaya behind the plate on Tuesday evening with Kelly sitting out with a wrist contusion. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.
DFS Last 5
Date | Opponent | Pts |
---|---|---|
Apr 22nd | Dodgers | 2 |
Apr 20th | Diamondbacks | |
Apr 18th | Diamondbacks | 38 |
Apr 16th | @Padres | 5 |
Apr 13th | @Dodgers | 4 |