Seattle Mariners: Jarred Kelenic is about to arrive in the Emerald City
Might have a rough start
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).
Tempering Enthusiasm
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.