White Sox might be former top prospect Jarred Kelenic's final stand
PEORIA, Ariz. — It’s safe to say Jarred Kelenic is seeking some redemption. The No. 6 pick overall by the Mets in the 2018 draft, Kelenic had all the credentials such a lofty selection granted.
He was traded to Seattle that offseason where it certainly didn’t happen, even as the top prospect in the Mariners' organization and fourth overall in Major League Baseball.
But he had played so poorly that in mid-2023 he fractured his left foot kicking a Gatorade cooler in the home dugout out of frustration. It was then on to Atlanta where it didn’t happen, either.
He’s a .211 hitter with a .658 OPS and an 84 OPS+ — well below the major-league average of 100 – for his first five seasons. He hit .167 for the Braves last year in 60 games with an OPS+ of 49. That all speaks for itself.
The White Sox might be his final stand. Kelenic is in camp on a minor league contract and doesn’t have a spot on the club’s 40-man roster. He has to make the team. How has he weathered all the ups and downs — mostly downs?
“The game is hard,” Kelenic said. “The game sucks sometimes, man. It’ll beat you down. But at the end of the day, you’ve just got to stick to your strengths and superpowers, ride with those and have as much confidence as you can in yourself in a game where you’re set up to fail.”
Kelenic is trying, but the more things change the more they remain the same. Despite his first spring homer for the Sox on Friday — a three-run shot against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields — the left-handed hitting outfielder is still struggling offensively below his career clip: a .200/.238/.400 slash line with seven strikeouts in 21 plate appearances.
“It’s a small sample size. It’s Arizona,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “We’re not putting any stock into this statistically. Are you hitting the ball hard? Are you playing well defensively? Are you putting in the work? And on all that he is.”
Yet, The odds are long of him making it if Kelenic doesn’t put up some significant numbers that pop open the right eyes.
“There’s a path for him. He’s still here,” Venable added. “We haven’t made any decisions yet about him or anybody else. He still has a shot.”
At 26, the time may be coming for a career change. He was one of the highest drafted players ever from the state of Wisconsin, despite never playing ball for his Waukesha West High School team. He trained through the winter instead and decided to turn down a scholarship to play college ball at the University of Louisville after he was drafted by the Mets.
It’s been a long downhill slog ever since.
“I think just like anyone has throughout life there were a lot of things I went through that were negative,” Kelenic said. “I felt like there were really big learning opportunities for me that ultimately made me who I am today just like from an approach standpoint. The outlook of who I am, my own self.
“I can’t generalize it into one thing, but I’ve just been trying to take those times that weren’t so great and turn them into a learning opportunity because that’s the only way you can get any better.”
The Mets traded him to Seattle on Dec. 3, 2018, in the seven-player deal that netted New York aging second baseman Robinson Cano and closer Edwin Diaz. He never played a day for the Mets in the major leagues, but the Mariners were jazzed to get Kelenic. It never panned out. He batted .168 with 167 strikeouts in 147 games hose first two season, 2021 and 2022.
But perhaps there will be a new dawn for him at Camelback Ranch. Kelenic drew in a deep breath and released it when asked how he’s feeling now.
“I mean, I’m feeling pretty confident,” he said. “I’m feeling really good about where my head is at and where my swing is at. Again, it’s really early. I still need some reps to keep working on some things. There’s still some pitches I’m missing that when I’m on a roll I’m mashing those things.”
He once was the top prospect in baseball. Now, Kelenic knows better than anyone else he’s on the clock.