St. Louis Cardinals Prospects Carson Kelly, Alex Reyes to Appear in 2016 MLB All-Star Futures Game
Two members of the St. Louis Cardinals organization have been selected for MLB’s annual midseason prospect showcase.
Major League Baseball announced the initial rosters on Tuesday for their annual SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which will be played on the Sunday (July 10) preceding the Midsummer Classic at Petco Park in San Diego.
More from Arch Authority
- St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk to begin Double-A rehab stint
- John Brebbia deserves a shot as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer
- St. Louis Cardinals place Randal Grichuk on DL, recall José Martínez
- St. Louis Cardinals release RHP Corey Baker from organization
- St. Louis Cardinals activate Kolten Wong and Kevin Siegrist from DL, option Luke Weaver and Alex Mejia to Triple-A
Included on those rosters were two St. Louis Cardinals prospects: starting pitcher Alex Reyes, ranked as the organization’s top prospect by MLB Pipeline, who will pitch for the World Team, and catcher
Carson Kelly, ranked as the club’s 13th-best prospect, who will play for Team USA.
Reyes will pitch for the World Team, despite the fact that was born in and spent his entire childhood in New Jersey until moving to New Jersey at age 17 to evade the MLB Draft. Pipeline has him ranked as Major League Baseball’s fourth-best pitching prospect, behind the Dodgers’ Julio Urias and the Nationals’ Lucas Giolito, both of whom are currently in the major leagues, as well as the Pirates’ Tyler Glasnow. Reyes, who consistently touches triple digits with his fastball and also possesses an elite curveball, has a 4.35 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, and .227 opponent batting average through seven starts this season for Triple-A Memphis. If he wasn’t averaging a mere 4.43 innings per start, he’d be knocking on the door of the major-league club.
Kelly has really legitimized himself as a potential successor to Yadier Molina this season, and he’s another player who provides evidence for the old baseball adage about trusting that the offense will eventually come for elite defensive players. Kelly quickly progressed behind the plate after converting from third base in 2014, and he won a minor-league Gold Glove last season. He had failed to register an OPS above .700 during his first two full campaigns with full-season minor-league clubs, but he’s definitely caught on at the plate this year, hitting .291/.333/.418 with six homers and 17 RBI through 58 games with Double-A Springfield. His development is undoubtedly a major source of relief for the Cardinals organization, which so far has lacked any real succession plan for the 33-year-old Molina.
Next: Cardinals Activate Brayan Pena, DFA Eric Fryer
This is the second time that Reyes has been selected for the Futures Game, though he was injured and unable to pitch last year. This marks Kelly’s first selection for the game.