Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic was speculated to be a savior. He was supposed to assist pull a franchise that had been largely irrelevant within the annals of baseball historical past into World Collection rivalry. He was a highly regarded choose for the 2021 AL Rookie of the 12 months Award final 12 months.

Whereas the staff has change into a lot better since he was referred to as up, Kelenic has been extra of a detriment than a assist. By way of 494 profession plate appearances (via Aug. 9), Kelenic is slashing .169/.249/.582. Since being referred to as up on Could 13, 2021, Kelenic has break up time between the Main League membership and Triple-A because the staff appears to get his swing again so as. Nevertheless, it doesn’t matter what they do, the Mariners can’t appear to repair Kelenic’s damaged swing.

Of all non-pitchers in MLB historical past with no less than 490 Main League plate appearances, Kelenic has the second-worst batting common. The one participant ever to report a decrease profession common is former Phillies infielder and Cubs supervisor John Vukovich, who hit .161 throughout 607 plate appearances between 1970 and 1981. That’s it. This isn’t a very good signal, clearly. Of the 70 gamers to have a median of .200 or worse after no less than 490 plate appearances, 53 by no means made it (or haven’t made it but) to 1,000 plate appearances. They had been all pushed to the minors or pressured into retirement earlier than then.

Kelenic may completely be among the many 17 that did, however of these 17, just one, Lewis Brinson, was an outfielder. A lot of the gamers who lasted within the Majors had been catchers (10 of the 17), which is sensible given the significance of protection on the catcher place. That’s why individuals like Jeff Mathis lasted so long as they did, and why guys like Michael Perez, Austin Hedges, and Kyle Higashioka are all nonetheless getting ABs regardless of their offensive woes. That’s inappropriate although. Mainly, outfielders these days want to have the ability to hit. As nice a defender as some could also be, a middle fielder who can cowl loads of floor, however can’t hit the white aspect of a baseball simply isn’t price it for many huge league golf equipment.

Brinson and Kelenic have had fairly comparable careers really. Brinson was a highly-touted prospect circa 2018 earlier than struggling within the Majors. After a couple of journeys again right down to Triple-A, he may by no means catch fireplace with the Marlins and now finds himself within the Astros’ minor league system. Whereas Kelenic was the recipient of rather more hype than Brinson ever was, Kelenic’s struggles are all too comparable, arguably worse. Kelenic’s profession OPS-plus sits at 64, simply 10 factors larger than Brinson’s profession mark. Every has a bit of little bit of pop, however a significant issue with strikeouts. Every has fairly mediocre defensive metrics, and every was speculated to be a middle fielder after they had been referred to as up, solely to be relegated to nook outfield responsibility the extra time they spent within the bigs.

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So, with Brinson’s profession spanning greater than half a decade now, it’s laborious to take a look at Kelenic with a lot enthusiasm given all their similarities. I do know batting common isn’t an excellent stat to take a look at, however having the second-worst mark of all time in any class is rarely good. I do know it’d be straightforward to say Kelenic will get away of this funk and change into the elite outfielder all of us anticipated him to be previous to 2021, however I actually don’t assume I can defend him anymore.

Can Kelenic nonetheless enhance? Completely. It’d be laborious to not, given the place he’s presently at. Nevertheless, anticipating Kelenic to return to type after all the pieces we’ve seen is a pipe dream. Possibly in a 12 months or two, he can change into a platoon bat with some upside within the energy division, but when that’s what Kelenic’s ceiling has change into, and if that’s what Mariners followers are hoping for, then they’re holding onto a miracle. It’s a disgrace to see how far he’s fallen.