Wild Things are cooking with Ketchup
Caleb Ketchup is a shortstop who plays center field. And sometimes right field. He’s also a leadoff hitter, and a guy who bats in the No. 3 spot and sometimes in the No. 6 spot of the lineup.
However, it doesn’t matter to Ketchup where he plays or when he bats. And the Wild Things have discovered that adding Ketchup to the lineup anywhere makes for a better team.
“I’ll play wherever. … I’m a baseball player. I can play anywhere,” Ketchup said.
Ketchup, from Jonesboro, Ga., is in his first season with the Wild Things after spending three years in the Los Angeles Angels farm system. It was with the Angels that he became an outfielder, but that was after a stellar college career as a shortstop at Lipscomb University in Nashville.
Ketchup was Lipscomb’s shortstop and leadoff hitter in 2023, when he hit 17 home runs and stole 31 bases for the Bisons, who play in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Ketchup was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and drafted by the Angels in the 15th round that year.
It took a season and half with the Angels until Ketchup made the transition to the outfield, but that move wasn’t planned.
“We were playing in Eugene, Oregon, and I’m playing second base. One of our outfielders goes down. We had another outfielder thrown out early in the game,” Ketchup recalled. “Then our left fielder ran into our third baseman and he got a concussion. I was the only backup plan. We have no outfielders left.
“My coach says, ‘Hey, you can run. Pick up an outfielder’s glove.’ So midgame I pick up an outfield glove and make a diving catch. I surprised myself. I also almost robbed a home run, got my glove on it but it bounced off. And so, from that day on, they were like, you’re going to have to learn how to do this. So for the rest of that year I split the week, three days in the outfield and three days in the infield, getting into the groove and learning how to play outfield.”
Last year, Ketchup played only two of his 88 games in the minors as an infielder.
“I played the outfield and learned the ins and outs of how to do it without just being fast and running to the ball,” Ketchup said. “I learned footwork, how to make throws, that type of stuff. Now I’m comfortable out there.”
The Angels were comfortable enough with Ketchup’s offensive development to keep him for a fourth season. That’s when he signed with the Wild Things.
“My pro ball career was a learning experience. I spent a little too much time learning how to be a professional and having the confidence in who I was as a baseball player. In pro ball it’s easy to listen to all the voices because they’re the ones writing the checks,” Ketchup said. “But if you do that and don’t stay true to who you are as a baseball player, then you lose your identity and I think that happened to me. I lost my identity, especially at the plate. Defense has always been my strong suit, but at the plate it’s where I struggled. And I never figured it out.”
Ketchup has been figuring out Frontier League pitching at a .272 clip with four home runs. He also has 15 stolen bases. He has been instrumental in Washington getting off to a 28-12 start that has the Wild Things in first place in the Central Division
Manager Tom Vaeth has started Ketchup at center field, shortstop and for one game at right field. He began the season as the leadoff hitter and has moved to the middle of the order after second baseman Antonio Monroy joined the team.
“I’ll play wherever they put me,” Ketchup said. “At this point, I’m more comfortable in the outfield but shortstop will always be my passion. I have more fun playing shortstop. You can be more involved in the game. But I’m comfortable. I’ll make something happen.”
Ketchup tried to make something happen Wednesday night in the Wild Things’ 7-6 win over Windy City in the second game of a doubleheader. He attempted a straight steal of home, which might have been a first in franchise history, but was tagged out.
It seemed natural that Ketchup signed with the Wild Things, only a short distance from Pittsburgh and the home of Heinz. So why isn’t he wearing uniform No. 57?
“I was saving that for if I make it to the major leagues, I can get an endorsement deal,” Ketchup said with a laugh.