Carson Kelly Has Been the Cubs' Primary Catcher In 2026, But That Could Change Moving Forward

One of the more intriguing aspects of the Chicago Cubs and their lineup construction thus far in 2026 has been the distribution of playing time between their two catchers. 

In reality, the team has a pair of starting-caliber backstops. Carson Kelly is coming off a career season despite fading in the second half of 2025, while Miguel Amaya looked to be gaining traction at the plate in 2024 before injuries ravaged his ability to perform last season. The early assumption was that Kelly would get the majority of the time behind the plate by a decent margin, at least early, as Amaya regained his footing at the top level. However, that's not entirely how things have played out across almost a dozen contests. 

Kelly certainly does have the edge in time behind the plate so far; he's caught seven games to Amaya's four. However, Amaya also has a trio of appearances as the designated hitter. From a catching standpoint, though, Kelly's 60 innings are a significant edge over Amaya's 36. The production gap at this young stage of the season does feel wide, though, and could inform Craig Counsell's choices a little bit differently upon the return of Seiya Suzuki.

From a production standpoint, Amaya has a healthy edge in output. He's contributed a .294/.400/.529 line to the cause with an even 15.0 percent rate in both strikeouts and walks and a 164 wRC+. Kelly, meanwhile, is sitting on a .250/.344/.286 line, a 21.9 percent strikeout rate, and a 12.5 percent walk rate. His wRC+ reads as below average, checking in at 90. The concern there, of course, is in the latter's absence of power. After going for a .179 ISO in 2025, he's at a mere .036 clip in 2026. When you factor in the strikeout-to-walk ratio, there's a clear edge for Amaya in the production game, even when Kelly is receiving the lion's share of the work behind the dish.

Believe it or not, Amaya's advantage over Kelly carries over to defensive performance, as well. Kelly's been exactly average in blocking and framing and below average in throwing hitters out despite technically carrying an advantage in pop time. Amaya, however, holds an advantage in his ability to control the run game. The difference between the two in framing has been marginal to date: 

Each has different areas of the zone in which they're finding success on the framing front. There's an awful lot of consistency here between the two, presenting a really similar skill set. Ultimately, though, we still don't know how much ABS is factoring into this, nor do we have a large enough overall sample to declare one better in this aspect than the other. So, if we call that a wash and move toward something comprehensive, Amaya's arm props him up slightly between the two. Either way, there's a long way to go before this aspect becomes something more tangible in one being better than the other in matters of playing time being determined. It does feel worth noting, at least, that Amaya has outperformed Kelly in more areas than not.

What is also notable at this point is where that playing time is actually being distributed, because at this early stage, there doesn't appear to be a particular order between the two. Carson Kelly has caught Matthew Boyd twice, Shota Imanaga twice, and Jameson Taillon and Edward Cabrera each once. He was also behind the plate for Cade Horton's 17 pitches prior to his season-ending injury over the weekend. Amaya caught each of Horton, Taillon, and Cabrera a single time before assuming duty for Javier Assad's first start on Tuesday. None of it indicates a clear trend, though. Especially because it's too early for the data to indicate whether the catchers themselves have any bearing on pitcher performance.

Which means that we're in this sort of muddled early season stage where Craig Counsell is feeling out his roster in certain respects. While the catching could certainly have an impact on the pitching staff at some point in a way that could sway playing distributions, the sample (on either side of the ball) isn't large enough to justify any firm conclusion, even if Miguel Amaya has outplayed Carson Kelly within that minuscule run.

What will be interesting to monitor in the coming days, though, is how that distribution could shift upon the return of Seiya Suzuki. Counsell has been inclined to throw Amaya into the DH spot to get his bat in there, but the return of Suzuki and the extended run that Matt Shaw has gotten in right field could lead to a shift in how the catching position actually looks given the slight defensive difference between the two. 

It's just as intriguing a situation as we could have thought, with the changing roster dynamics likely to lend a little more clarity moving forward.