Kelenic seeks to be his ‘best version’ in a new chapter with the Braves
Jarred Kelenic will remember this year by celebrating his early success, lamenting his temper-fueled left foot fracture, and anticipating the opportunity he now has to boost what is already a fantastic Braves lineup.
“Some of the best players in the game are on that roster,” he remarked. “I think that will allow me to just get comfortable in the box and really hone in on what makes me click and who I am at my best.” I think if I just concentrate on that, I’ll be right where I need to be.”
We haven’t seen the best Kelenic since the Mets selected him with the sixth overall choice in the 2018 MLB Draft. He was regarded as MLB Pipeline’s No. 4 prospect as recently as ’21, but he has only a.656 OPS in his first 252 big league appearances.
As the Braves demonstrated their confidence in Kelenic, potential surpassed production. They took on two contracts to acquire him from the Mariners, gaining another undesired contract while flipping the other two at severely discounted prices.
By the time all those contracts were ditched, Atlanta found Kelenic’s cost for the 2024 season to be close to $17 million. How can a guy who is going to be paid $800,000 cost this much? The Braves ended up paying the Pirates $9.25 million for Marco Gonzales, a little more than $6 million to the White Sox for Max Stassi and $6 million for David Fletcher, who will now be Atlanta’s utility infielder.
Even after accounting for the $4 million included in the trade by the Mariners, the Braves will pay nearly to $17 million for Kelenic and Fletcher. That’s $4 million more than they’d have had to pay to keep Eddie Rosario and Nicky Lopez. However, this isn’t just about 2024. This monetary commitment demonstrates Atlanta’s faith in Kelenic’s capacity to be a star for many years to come.
“I had some conversations with some people in the front office, and they spoke really highly of me when we talked on the phone,” Kelenic said. “I was really happy to hear that. At the end of the day, I know that I need to just go take care of business and do my job. That’s all I can control. But to hear the support that I have from an organization I haven’t even played for yet was definitely reassuring. It makes me like just super excited to get to work and get out to Florida and start Spring Training.”
Looking at Kelenic’s journey, you have to wonder if he is one of the many baseball players who were adversely affected by the 2020 COVID shutdown. Not every Minor Leaguer made the most of the lost season like Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II did.
Kelenic succeeded at the Class A and Double-A levels in 2019 and then produced a 1.016 OPS in the 30 Triple-A games he played before being promoted to Seattle in ’21. It didn’t take long to see he wasn’t ready or at least prepared to deal with inevitable adversity. Kelenic produced a .615 OPS in 377 plate appearances for the Mariners that year. He struggled at the start of ’22, thrived after being sent down and then struggled again after rejoining Seattle’s roster.
So there was great excitement when Kelenic hit seven homers with a .988 OPS through his first 27 games of 2023. Finally, he was experiencing the anticipated breakout, right? Well, Kelenic hit four homers with a .666 OPS over the next 63 games. This stretch ended on July 19, when he kicked a water cooler and broke his foot.
Kelenic’s powerful left-handed swing is an asset. His temper has long been a hindrance. But this humbling experience may have provided a great lesson.
“I took a step back, I just like kept thinking to myself, ‘What am I doing?’ Like, I’m not happy, like I’m way too frustrated, I’m letting my emotions get the best of me, I’m not even enjoying this,” Kelenic said. “It made me take a step back and realize how lucky and how thankful I am to be in the position that I am.”
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