ATLANTA – Jarred Kelenic has done a few things in the past few days to at least remind us what made him an elite prospect a few years ago and an outfielder the Atlanta Braves pursued in a December trade.
He hit a three-run homer in the first inning of Wednesday’s 5-2 win against the Colorado Rockies, and in Friday’s 3-1 series-opening win against the Toronto Blue Jays, he had an RBI single in the three -controlled second innings. , then stole a base and scored.
Kelenic can hit for power and run and has good reach and a strong arm in the outfield.
But here’s the thing: He’s 25 now, has played six years of pro ball, including four MLB seasons, and is hitting just .233 with 14 home runs, 42 RBIs, seven stolen bases and a .678 OPS this season . He has 129 strikeouts and 28 walks in 124 games.
If we’re being honest, he wasn’t a great jerk.
Yes, there was a tantalizing stretch after he moved from platoon duty to the everyday lineup in late May following Ronald Acuña Jr.’s season-ending knee injury. Kelenic hit .321 with six homers and a .934 OPS in 30 games during that stretch through June 29, more than half of it coming by hitting leadoff and after switching from left field to center in place of an injured Michael Harris II.
But outside of that 30-game tear, the rest of his first season with the Braves didn’t offer much of anything to suggest that Kelenic is a player a contender would be eager to pencil into their lineup.
Jarred Kelenic had a chance for a fresh start with the Braves. So far, the results have been mixed. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Kelenic hit .248 with a .663 OPS in 38 games before that 30-game tear, and in 55 games since then (prior to Friday) he had a measly .168 average with five homers, three stolen bases and a .531 OPS.
Braves manager Brian Snitker was asked Friday afternoon about Kelenic’s season.
“I was thinking about that the other day,” Snitker said. “I think in a perfect world, what we had planned for him (was) going to work really well. That got derailed with all the injuries.”
Injuries forced the Braves to shift Kelenic from squad in left field to the everyday lineup in right field, and then center when Harris injured his hamstring. But remember, the initial plan was not to platoon Kelenic this season.
He’ll be the everyday left fielder — the Braves said as much after trading Kelenic from the Seattle Mariners in December. To get Kelenic five years of contract control before free agency, the Braves made a series of moves and took on more than $15 million in salary through bad contracts from other players.
They didn’t do it to get a squad player.
But after Kelenic had a sluggish spring training and the Braves signed veteran outfielder Adam Duvall late in camp, they reversed course and said Kelenic and Duvall would make the lineup.
Duvall has been one of baseball’s worst hitters this season, and Kelenic’s .172 average since July 1 was second-worst among MLB qualifiers before Friday. Duvall was so unproductive in a regular role, the Braves signed Ramón Laureano and Eddie Rosario after they were released by other teams.
And then they traded for Jorge Soler at the deadline.
Laureano was the most productive of that group. Rosario looked finished and was released.
And Kelenic, who the Braves once projected — and perhaps still do — to be part of a strong outfield for years with Harris and Acuña? Well, let’s just say that looks far from certain, judging strictly by performance.
“I think if this thing had played out and he would have stayed hitting at nine, platoon and all that, if his numbers were the same (against lefties) now, you’d think this was a success,” Snitker said. . “I mean, he’s been through a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of different things.
“And because of the situation here, losing all the guys, it wasn’t the perfect scenario that we talked about or hoped for when we left spring training. But he hangs in there. It’s going to be another year of learning for a young player who is really talented, and we’ll just see going forward.”
That overlooks one thing: Kelenic wasn’t good against lefties or righties. Hitting .237 with 13 homers and a .707 OPS in 329 at-bats against righties, and .212 with one homer and a .531 OPS in 66 at-bats against lefties.
He was replaced at leadoff after the Braves traded for Soler, and when Soler did little at the top of the lineup, Harris returned to leadoff after his two-month injured list stint. Utility player Whit Merrifield, who filled in at second base for an injured Ozzie Albies, had six straight starts in first last week, and Kelenic was deployed in the bottom half of the order.
It should be noted that the Braves are only paying Kelenic a $760,000 salary this season. And if he ends up developing into the player they believed he could be, that $15 million to $17 million in bad wages they accepted — it’s complicated and estimates vary on the actual amount — would be a bargain.
But so far, Kelenic remains an inconsistent and “tool” former top prospect. Average player, more than a fourth outfielder for a good team. A player whose performance is still, after nearly seven seasons of professional ball, far below what two different teams, the Braves and Mariners, hoped it would be when they traded for him.
The Mariners traded Edwin Díaz and Robinson Canó to the New York Mets in December 2018 for a five-player package with Kelenic as the centerpiece, six months after the Mets used the sixth pick of the 2018 draft to select Kelenic out of a Wisconsin high school. .
Kelenic was the consensus top prospect in all of baseball before the 2021 season, when he made his big league debut with the Mariners. After he tore up the minors in the Mariners organization, his debut was highly anticipated and expectations considerable.
But the Mariners gave up on him after three seasons, during which he hit .204 with 32 home runs and a .656 OPS in nearly 1,000 plate appearances over 254 games. He got off to his best start in 2023, then deflated and broke his foot when he kicked a water cooler in frustration.
He had a chance for a fresh start with the Braves. So far, the results have been mixed.
Max Fried continues the Braves streak
Max Fried gave up five hits and one unearned run in seven innings to extend the Braves’ streak to 25 games in which their starting pitchers allowed three runs or less.
That is the longest such streak in the majors this season and the sixth-longest in MLB history, seven behind the record of 32 consecutive games accomplished by Los Angeles Dodgers starters in 2021. No other such streak was longer than 28 games, and the franchise record before. that season was 18 by the 1948 Boston Braves.
“I guess it’s not surprising, knowing the group we have,” said Fried, who had eight strikeouts with one walk Friday and has a 2.08 ERA in his past four starts, going seven innings in three of those. “Also everything has to fall into place. Every night, every one of our starters, we’re confident that we can go out and win a game and go deep into games. We’re throwing the ball well and it’s where we want to be.”
Veteran catcher Travis d’Arnaud, when asked what it takes for a rotation to do something like this, said: “Everybody’s pulling the same rope. Competition. Love for each other. Just stick together through thick and thin, and just always pulling for each other .”
Injury updates
After being hit in the head by a fastball Tuesday and missing two starts, Merrifield returned to the lineup Friday. He lasted just six innings, exiting after fouling a ball off his left foot. X-rays were negative, but Snitker said Merrifield received a CT scan after the game and the Braves would not know his status until they received that test result.
Whit Merrifield was ruled out of tonight’s game after fouling that ball off his left foot. pic.twitter.com/heocGbmg6A
– Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) 7 September 2024
Albies, who broke his left wrist nearly six weeks ago, worked out all week and increased his hitting in the right-hander’s indoor cage. The switch hitter’s left-handed swing still doesn’t feel right, Snitker said. Once it does, Albies will be cleared for hitting and could begin a short rehab assignment before the Triple-A team ends its season.
Albies could rejoin the Braves within the next two weeks, but third baseman Austin Riley (fractured hand) is not expected back until the postseason, assuming the Braves qualify. Once ready, Riley could face live pitching either in the Braves’ Instructional League at North Port, Fla., or face pitchers the team will keep active at its Triple-A Gwinnett site to have pitching options for the playoffs.
(Top photo: Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
