Carson Kelly has been a big factor in the Tigers' great start

Carson Kelly, who will turn 30 in July, is a journeyman who has bounced around the various minor league levels and the Major Leagues, entering his 13th season.

But he is a star through the Detroit Tigers' first four games of the season.

A catcher, Kelly has three big, timely, hits — two in extra innings — and is as big a reason as anyone for the Tigers 4-0 start entering Tuesday.

The most surprising part of it all is that it has all happened just eight months after he was released by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 15, after spending five years with the organization.

However, he was signed by Detroit four days later and Tigers manager A.J. Hinch had a plan for Kelly. Hinch wanted Kelly to go to a one-knee position behind the place. Hinch also made changes in Kelly's swing that would allow him to drive the ball in the air and on a line more often.

So far, so good.

In Saturday's 7-6 win over the Chicago White Sox, Kelly had a RBI single that tied the game and another run-scoring single that drove in the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. 

In Monday's 5-0 win over the New York Mets, Kelly's 10th-inning three-run homer turned a 2-0 lead into a comfortable margin.

"You come into spring training with a bunch of adjustments and you're like, 'Is it going to work? I hope it works,'" Kelly told The Athletic after Saturday's win in Chicago. "And you get validated in spring, and then to come in here and have a good first day is awesome."

The following days have not been bad either.