Jarred Kelenic is a cornerstone of the Seattle Mariners rebuid.
The Seattle Mariners are off to a nice start. Their pitching has been very good, ranking as one of the best in the MLB. On the other side, the Mariners’ offense also ranks as one of the highest-scoring in the league. Before Monday’s games, the M’s were second in the AL in run differential. They are, of course, leaps and bounds, two football fields and a country mile ahead of everyone else in Fun differential.
After 22 games, there are only three regulars who are batting below the Mendoza line. If Jesse Winker continues his current hot streak, his average will be over .200 in the next few days, if not sooner. That leaves Abraham Toro and Jarred Kelenic under a .200 batting average.
Kelenic is again struggling to hit at the Major League level. However, recently he’s been sitting with more frequency. Is this because the Seattle Mariners are losing their belief in him and think he may be more of a Joc Pederson platoon guy as opposed to an everyday player?
There are more right-handed pitchers than lefties, but Pederson sits against lefties just as Kelenic is starting to do more. Thus Pederson doesn’t play every single day, just most of them.
Or is this a way of the Seattle Mariners trying to build and maintain Kelenic’s confidence at the plate?
Since Kelenic is struggling to hit, the thinking might be for him to face more righties so he can have some success and build his confidence. Once he’s hitting better and more consistently, he can have more chances against lefties. Keep in mind not every highly touted prospect succeeds at the MLB level.
If the Seattle Mariners go with a platoon, it might actually work out well for the team. Currently, Kyle Lewis is continuing his rehab from knee surgery. Not long ago, he began hitting live batting practice and is currently playing in extended spring training games.
This week Mitch Haniger went on the injured list with a Grade 2 high ankle sprain. The fingers crossed return time is hopefully around the end of May. But that may be highly optimistic.
Due to those injuries, the Seattle Mariners would need to platoon Kelenic with utility player Dylan Moore. We’ve already seen some examples of Moore starting in right field in place of Kelenic and then J.K. coming in for late-game defensive purposes. On occasion, Moore also pinch-hit for Kelenic late in games when the opponent brought in a lefty reliever.
In 16 plate appearances, Moore has 3 hits, 1 home run, and 2 RBI to accompany a .250 batting average. So in the short term, Moore could be a solid option for the Seattle Mariners. Another option is moving second baseman Adam Frazier to left field, Winker to right field, and Toro starting at second base. This is a riskier option because it weakens the team’s overall defense.
Of course, is this all until Haniger or Lewis returns. Then Seattle Mariners Managers Scott Servais could platoon Kelenic with proven MLB producers. Besides, if Kelenic is the Seattle Mariners version of Pederson, that’s not the worst thing in the world. Pederson is a two-time World Series champion.
Typically left-handed hitters struggle when they face lefty pitchers. Lately, Servais sits Kelenic when the opponent starts a left-handed pitcher. This makes sense due to J.K.’s .083 average against them.
Kelenic has the same batting average when he’s facing right-handed starters. And ironically, he bats better at home than he does on the road.
On the surface might not seem to be ironic until you realize that T-Mobile Field is considered a pitcher’s park. That makes Kelenic an odd duck.
Then again, comparing Kelenic to Pederson at this point is a little unfair, considering the Mariners’ young outfielder has less than a year of MLB service time and only 453 plate appearances. Fair or not, Kelenic’s production isn’t what the Seattle Mariners and their fans thought or expected from the highly-touted kid.
Kelenic’s career batting average against righties is .167, so it’s not like he’s beating the tar out of them either. But he sees the ball better against righties as his on base percentage is 22 points higher. More importantly, his slugging percentage is 150 points higher, which is significant.
A good manager puts his people in situations where they can succeed. For Servais, that means Kelenic’s best opportunities are against right-handed pitchers.
So, here is something of note for everyone. Kelenic performs better in the second half of the season compared to the first half. We saw how Kelenic finished up at the end of 2021. He was one of the Seattle Mariners’ best hitters down the stretch.
The M’s hoped that his end-of-the-year success would carry over to 2022. Especially in the early going. It hasn’t happened yet.
Maybe Kelenic is just like many other MLB hitters by getting off to a slow start. Currently, the MLB batting average is .233. Kelenic’s .141 average is bad, but it’s not like he’s 200 points behind. There is still time for him to turn his hitting around.
Winker is on a hot streak and should be getting his batting average over .200 in the next game or two. Julio Rodriguez just hit his first major league home run on Sunday. A few games before that, he took his batting average over .200 this season. Ther is time for Kelenic to improve.
It certainly looks like the Seattle Mariners are on the side of protecting Kelenic’s confidence. Let him hit well against right-handed pitching. Once he gets into a rhythm, then start to have him face the lefties. Their fallback plan is platooning him with Haniger, Moore, and Lewis.
For now, M’s fans need to stay patient with Kelenic a little bit longer. At least until Haniger and Lewis return to the team.
Do you think the Seattle Mariners should protect Jarred Kelenic? Let us know in the comments section below.