During my glorious days playing right field for my middle-school baseball team, I looked on in envy as my teammate at the catcher position strapped on his armor, set to take his place at one of the most imperative spots on the field. Along with the rest of our squad, he stayed locked in, making effortless throws from home to second base, en route to a tournament championship. Alas, unlike what we’re seeing here on the North Side of Chicago, my team’s catcher didn’t have an elite partner to split up duties with. In one of the season’s most exciting early success stories, Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly are playing like the best catchers in Major League Baseball.
The catcher position for the 2023 and 2024 Cubs was a perpetual problem. They registered as almost a free out for the North Siders’ opponents, putting together at-bats unhealthier than a late-night drive-through stop at Portillo’s. In his last three seasons, Yan Gomes couldn’t scrape together better than a 2.0 WAR. In his one truncated season with the Cubs, Tomas Nido clocked in with a -0.5 WAR. Nido was an emergency attempt to replace Gomes, just a year after calling up Amaya was an emergency measure to replace spiraling veteran Tucker Barnhart. Now, in the case of Amaya, his former mechanics prevented him from realizing the potential in his bat for quite a while. He’s a completely different ballplayer now, in all the best ways.
The longer you hang around in the majors, the higher the likelihood you’ll be granted the opportunity to figure the game out. Amaya seems to be doing that. Not only is his defense strong, but Amaya’s quieted swing has become a perfectly solid hitter for his position, with upside from there. Considering his placement in the lower third of Craig Counsell‘s batting order, his .770 OPS makes Amaya a hidden gem within the Cubs’ lineup. Beyond his full offensive 180°, Amaya is one of several galvanizing clubhouse guys, keeping the vibes strong. At 26 years of age, approaching the prime of his career, he couldn’t be coming around at a better time.
I don’t have time to cycle through all the reasons why Carson Kelly is a sensational catcher for the Chicago Cubs. No one stays this hot, and maybe the injury he sustained when he was hit by a pitch this weekend will be the thing to cool him off, but his OPS of 1.636 almost seems like a dream. He’s positioned himself as one of the more confident Cubs on the field, a self-possessed veteran and Chicagoland native who is finally in a place that makes sense to him. Much has been made of this club’s offensive heft, as it leads the league in most categories, but Kelly’s defense has stood out, too. He’s been a good pitch framer and blocker, and his wonderfully accurate arm has already showed up in game action. Amaya has improved at controlling the running game, too, so perhaps the veteran is also helping his teammates get better.
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The Cubs, like every other team in the league, fix their sights on playoff baseball. With the tandem of Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya, that vision is much closer to realization. There’s no regular follower of this squad who will list catching as a strength for recent iterations of this franchise—not since, tellingly, 2017 or so. Almost instantly, one of the team’s biggest liabilities has become one of its biggest assets. Digging in between the white chalk squares that make the batter’s boxes, the Cubs’ catching duo is ready to make their club the envy of the big leagues.
