Jarred Kelenic, Seattle Mariners.
Jarred Kelenic will join the Seattle Mariners on May 13, 2021. I’ve been a Mariners fan since 1986 and only one other time in team history has there been such anticipation for an event. For those that don’t live in the Seattle area, Thursday’s game will be part of a triple-header on the MLB channel.
For my generation and older, nothing will top April 3, 1989. It’s been so long though, that perhaps we don’t remember what it’s like. One of my colleagues at PNWS, Chris Phillips said, “It’s like Christmas Eve…except in May.” That is exactly how it felt after spring training 1989 ended and M’s fans found out that then 19-year-old Ken Griffey Jr. would make his MLB debut.
That will forever be the day that changed the Mariners franchise. May 13, 2021, has a chance to be the same type of situation. Especially with so many top prospects waiting to join the Mariners.
Last year was the tip of the iceberg for Seattle, with Kyle Lewis, J.P. Crawford, Evan White, and others joining the big league roster. With Kelenic’s arrival, you can make out the shape of the iceberg. Logan Gilbert, Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, Noelvi Marte, Emmerson Hancock, and George Kirby are just a few that are about to become household names.
But it doesn’t stop with those names. There are so many others that are waiting in the wings and the 2021 draft hasn’t happened yet. Kelenic isn’t just any name in that long train of arrivals from the minors. He is one of the best prospects the Mariners have ever had.
Kelenic is a proven winner, everywhere he’s gone. For example, he was the MVP of the USA U-18 team that won the gold medal at the Pan-American games in 2016 and then played again in 2017 and won gold again. He was the first high school player taken in the 2018 MLB draft and the sixth overall player taken in that draft.
The 2019 minor league player of the year in the Mariners’ farm system is now poised to put all of the hype behind him. He’s about to play at the highest level for a team that could use about 100,000 volts of offensive energy to get all of the bats going.
He’s coming to the Mariners off to a torrid start this year, batting .370 in six games at Triple-A Tacoma with two home runs, two stolen bases, and five RBI. M’s should be excited. However, it’s okay to temper the enthusiasm as well.
The questions that will be answered immediately will be:
The biggest question though, is whether or not Kelenic is the missing piece to the Seattle Mariners breaking their two-decade playoff drought? Or, is he one of many pieces that still need to find their way to a Seattle line-up or rotation or bullpen before the M’s get there.
This is still the Majors and it isn’t easy.
Every Mariners fan wants Kelenic to be successful and put up video game-like numbers. But fans have to be prepared for a rough start. Starting Thursday, the M’s start a four-game series against Cleveland. The Tribe’s expected starters are Zach Plesac (3.83 ERA), Aaron Civale (5-0, 2.91 ERA), Triston McKenzie (MLB Top-50 prospect), and defending American League Cy Young winner Shane Bieber (2.95 ERA).
That’s a gauntlet of pitching that Kelenic and the entire team will have to go through. The positive is that they are all right-handed and Jarred has hit righties (.299 average, .940 OPS) better than he’s hit lefties (.261 average, .757 OPS).
This isn’t the team’s first big rookie rodeo. I remember being excited about Dustin Ackley’s debut, D.J. Peterson’s debut, and Danny Hultzen’s debut. None of them were Jarred Kelenic though. This phenom is different, he’s already been on some big stages and showed that the pressure can’t defeat him.
With all of the talk that went on during spring training about service time manipulation, there were many paths to follow. One thing was certain, Kelenic was going to play for the Seattle Mariners this season. The question was always when.
Former team president Kevin Mather brought the situation to a boiling point by admitting that the Mariners were manipulating Kelenic’s service time. This forced Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto to play defense and then hold true to his word, which really got sticky when MLB announced that the minor league season would be delayed by a month.
The Seattle Mariners have 125 games left in the 2021 season. Let’s take a look at some projections for Kelenic.
In Junior’s debut, he batted second and played centerfield. He led off with a double that just missed going over the wall in left-center field. In his second at-bat, he flew out to right field. Then he drew a walk.
Ironically, Griffey was one of four rookies that started that game. He joined Edgar Martinez, Omar Vizquel, and Greg Briley in Seattle’s lineup that day. While Kelenic won’t be starting with any rookies, he’s part of a significant youth movement.
Jarred Kelenic’s moment is here. It’s his time to take the torch and give Mariners fans something more than hope. Kelenic can start to make the promises of a bright future real. I like all of Mariners Nation, can’t wait to see what this kid does.
How do you feel about Jarred Kelenic’s impending Seattle Mariners debut? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle Sports fan who is also a published author and an award-winning playwright and director.