Three-and-a-half years ago, the New York Mets used their best prospect, Jarred Kelenic, and some other pieces (including fellow pitching prospect Justin Dunn) to lure the Seattle Mariners into trading reliever Edwin Diaz and second baseman Robinson Cano.
It was an odd use of resources at the time, and still seems odd to this day, even though Kelenic is still struggling to adapt to major league pitching (and was demoted to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday).
MLB insider Jon Heyman, however, made it clear that he doesn’t feel that way: he believes the Mets won the trade, which is certainly not the majority’s way of seeing things.
Heyman notes that the Mets have gotten value, while the Mariners have only had to endure with Kelenic’s struggles.
This season, the talented, yet underachieving outfielder is hitting .140/.219/.291 with three homers and four steals in 96 plate appearances.
He Has Disappointed, But He Is 22!
If we add up his 2021 performance, he has slashed .173/.256/.338 with 17 homers and 10 steals in 473 plate appearances as a major leaguer.
That’s certainly disappointing, but we are all forgetting about one thing: he is still very, very young.
Locked On Mariners host Ty Dane Gonzalez tweeted the following: “Friendly reminder that Jarred Kelenic is 22 years old and still doesn’t have a full season’s worth of plate appearances to his credit.”
Friendly reminder that Jarred Kelenic is 22 years old and still doesn't have a full season's worth of plate appearances to his credit. https://t.co/YbMpDT7ZgY
— Ty Dane Gonzalez (@danegnzlz) May 13, 2022
And he is absolutely right.
The jump in competition level between Triple-A (or the high minors in general) and MLB appears to be bigger than ever, as Kelenic is not the only star prospect struggling to establish himself as a major leaguer.
Jo Adell, Bobby Witt Jr., C.J. Abrams, and others have had their fair share of failures in MLB, too.
Kelenic requires patience, but it’s still too early to completely write him off.
NEXT: Julio Rodriguez Is Quickly Adjusting To The MLB Game