The Seattle Mariners decided to give struggling outfielder Jarred Kelenic some time to regain his confidence and get his best swing and approach back by sending him to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.
After all, the Mariners need better production from their outfielders, and Kelenic is currently sporting a disappointing .509 OPS.
He is hitting .140/.219/.291 this year, and was similarly bad last year except for a big September.
Lots of people are writing him off already.
That is an absolutely irresponsible thing to do.
“It’s instructive to remember that Kelenic is 22 and didn’t have a 2020 season and was called up after six AAA games in 2021. Guessing his baseball career is far from finished,” Seattle Times Ryan Divish tweeted.
It's instructive to remember that Kelenic is 22 and didn't have a 2020 season and was called up after six AAA games in 2021.
Guessing his baseball career is far from finished.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) May 13, 2022
Not only is Kelenic young, but he is also rather inexperienced.
He Is Still Developing
Besides, most players are still at Double-A and Triple-A at 22.
He was trying to figure out how to hit major league pitching last year at 21.
Acting like he is already a bust and his baseball career is finished doesn’t make sense.
Kumar Rocker, for example, is also 22, just like Kelenic, and hasn’t even been drafted yet.
The point is that he is still in his developmental phase, even if he doesn’t appear to have much left to prove in Triple-A.
Ideally, he would learn to hit MLB pitchers by, you know, being on the MLB active roster, but since the Mariners have so much depth at the outfield position, they can afford to give Kelenic a week or two to see if he can get back to his old, confident self.
The Mariners still trust his skillset, and just feel that he needs some time to hone his craft in Tacoma.
He will be back.
NEXT: Mariners Make A Definitive Decision On Jarred Kelenic