Kyle DeBarge of the Cedar Rapids Kernels is perfecting the art of the steal

CEDAR RAPIDS - He will get thrown out at some point this minor league baseball season.

Absolutely. Definitely.

Probably. Most likely.

Maybe? Yeah, he did.

Kyle DeBarge hadn’t had that happen until Thursday night. The Cedar Rapids Kernels infielder was dead-solid perfect in stolen-base attempts (27 for 27) until his streak ended when he was caught trying to nab third in a game at Veterans Memorial Stadium by Lake County.

“I don’t even give him the steal sign. He has the green light,” said Kernels Manager Brian Meyer, prior to Thursday’s game. “If and when he does get thrown out, it’ll be a teaching moment for him. But right now, it’s something that you look at just throughout baseball, the stolen bases are coming back. And he is very gifted at doing that.”

DeBarge was the 33rd-overall pick of last year’s MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins out of the University of Louisiana (Lafayette). He is a gamer, a high-motor player who always has had a good hit tool, adding power to his resume last college season with 21 home runs and 19 doubles.

The stolen base really never was part of the deal for him, as he had just 10 in 62 games for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 2024. It has been a totally different situation as a pro.

After signing a contract with Minnesota last July, DeBarge had 15 steals in just 26 games for low-Class A Fort Myers. Now he’s on a run of 27 in a row, 29 if you go back to last season.

“The coaches give us a really good scouting report on times, times to the plate, what the catcher’s Pop Time is, counts to run in. The coaches do a really good job of that,” DeBarge said. “They prepare me for it, and I just trust what they say about everything: if a pitcher throws more offspeed in (certain) counts, stuff like that.”

Pop Time, by the way, is measured from the second a catcher catches a pitch to when his throw to second base is caught by an infielder.

“We put up video in our (hitting) cages pregame on the pitcher’s pickoff and his delivery,” DeBarge said. “I just try to lock in on keys. If he takes a deep breath and goes, how many times he looks to second. It’s just a bunch of that stuff.”

DeBarge went into Thursday night’s game hitting .265 in 40 games, with seven doubles, three triples, four home runs, 31 RBIs and 33 walks. He has shown defensive versatility, playing second base, shortstop, center field and left field.

You add the stolen bases and his age (21), and you’ve got a very solid prospect. His steals total is sixth in the minor leagues, by the way.

“I think (stealing bases) was just an untapped tool for him,” Meyer said. “He’s a guy who can really run. It’s something that I don’t know what the program was like at Lafayette and everything, as far as that goes. He obviously hit for power and did some different things there. But it’s something our scouts identified throughout the draft process and everything, something he’s been super open to. He wants to do it. He wants to be that force on the basepaths. He’s always asking questions.”

Even though he finally got caught, Meyer doesn’t want that to curb DeBarge’s enthusiasm, so to speak.

“It’s being able to identify when to go, what pitches to go on, shutting it down on slide steps,” the manager said. “He is very in tune with the scouting reports, too. When’s a good time to go, when not is a good time. He is aggressive, and I love it. When he does get thrown out, I’ll just tap him on the butt and say ‘Go get them again.’”

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