A catcher in high school, Kyle DeBarge became an infielder in college and plays there as a pro

CEDAR RAPIDS - The road to becoming a middle infielder in professional baseball began four years ago for Kyle DeBarge. And in a very, very weird way.

“That’s actually a pretty funny story,” said DeBarge, whose Cedar Rapids Kernels lost to Wisconsin, 4-2, on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

DeBarge was an all-state catcher for Barbe High School in Lake Charles, La., in 2021. He set the school’s record for best throw-out percentage.

Barbe won the Class 5A state championship that year and was named the best team in the nation by MaxPreps. So not just your ordinary prep baseball program.

DeBarge ended up going to college at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette, about an hour drive from his family’s home in Kinder, La. But his career didn’t start out with much of a bang.

“I was a bullpen catcher the first two weeks at UL,” DeBarge said. “I was missing groundball work and stuff like that. So I basically just told the coach how strongly I wanted to get in some (infield) reps finally. I just never left. A pretty cool story.”

DeBarge played in all 60 of Louisiana’s games as a true freshman in 2022, the team’s starting shortstop. He got onto the map nationally by hitting .371 as a sophomore, then his .355 batting average last season as a junior intrigued the Minnesota Twins enough to select him 33rd overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, a first-round sandwich pick Minnesota got after major league pitcher Sonny Gray signed as a free agent with the St. Louis Cardinals.

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DeBarge, 21, has played shortstop, second base, left field and center field in the early going this season for the Kernels. His defensive versatility and ability to hit makes for an intriguing prospect.

“He’s a gritty, gritty baseball player,” said Kernels Manager Brian Meyer. “Just all-around talented: defense, hitting, can run the bases really well. He’s a gamer, an absolute gamer. One of those kids who you are glad he’s on your team. If he was on the other team, he’s just a pain in the butt to deal with.

“I love that he’s dirty every game. Goes out there and competes, comes from an area in Lake Charles, La., where, you know, they start them young there. Barbe High School is known for having those types of kids. He goes on to Louisiana-Lafayette, and it’s the same thing. He’s a kid who plays with a chip on his shoulder and really plays up to, if not, past his potential.”

DeBarge had a walk-off, three-run home run earlier this six-game series against Wisconsin. He had a run-scoring single Saturday.

He’s hitting .273 in 18 games, with two home runs, 14 RBIs, 12 walks and nine stolen bases.

“I feel like I’m making adjustments at the plate and some stuff has definitely helped,” DeBarge said. “Tightening up my approach, just swinging at the pitches I can hit. Defensively just been working hard on that, too. Clean up the kind of like dumb errors, make the plays that you really should make all the time. It’s just making sure I’m making those. I feel really good right now.

“Swinging a wood bat is definitely a lot different than swinging a metal one. So just figuring out the difference in that. That and the pitching is a little bit better than college. Velo is up. You are just adapting to everything.”

Adapting and flourishing right now.

“I love having him here. He’s a gamer,” Meyer said. “I know we’re really happy to have him in the organization.”

It was not a good day for the Kernels (11-8), who lost their second straight game, committing four errors and stranding 12 guys on base. Hedbert Perez hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth for Wisconsin (8-12).

Kyle Hess went 4-for-4 for the Kernels. The six-game series concludes Sunday afternoon at 1:05.

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