Seattle Mariners: Jarred Kelenic sent down but he’s far from out
Kelenic isn’t Dustin Ackley but might be Dustin Pedroia
Jarred Kelenic is only 21-years-old, he has time. Let’s let him figure this out and get out of this horrible hitless in 10 game slump he’s in. One game at a time, one at-bat at a time, he will get his act together. While keeping Kelenic on the big league club during the final throws of rebuild seemed like an ideal spot to work out his kinks, sending him down to AAA Tacoma to rebuild his swagger might work as well.
This isn’t Dustin Ackley. Any comparisons on social media to the prospect that fell short of expectations are too soon and a bit of revisionist history as well. The only thing in common between the two is that they both hit from the left side.
Ackley played college ball, and the Seattle Mariners drafted him second overall. Kelenic was drafted out of high school sixth overall and came to Seattle as part of the Edwin Diaz, Robinson Cano trade. Jarred was two years younger than Ackley when he debuted. So there’s time to prove that Kelenic isn’t a bust. By the way, Ackley’s career .243 batting average while in Seattle would be fifth on this year’s team.
Tim Laker must go
I will add that the Mariners hitting coach Tim Laker must go. The lifetime .226 hitter, during an era when the league was tearing it up offensively, is absolutely pathetic. PEDs aside, batting .226 during the current era wouldn’t earn anyone a hitting coach job anywhere, let alone for someone who put up poor numbers during an offensive explosion.
It seems to me that the drop-off from Triple-A performance to MLB performance for Kelenic has to connect somewhere. While the results are listed above, the root cause might run even deeper.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle Sports fan, an award-winning playwright, author, director, and producer. You can find a list of his work at www.brokenartsentertainment.com