Jarred Kelenic will look to keep improving in Rockies series

With all the trade rumors that are going around lately, there’s a strong reason that the Mariners may end up making only a minor move, or even standing pat at the deadline. It’s their farm system and the large number of players that are about to break through into the major league level. Even furthermore, there are some that are there already. Like Jarred Kelenic.

Of everyone in the Mariners system, he is the most interesting case currently. Logan Gilbert held that title when he was called up, but he has been exceptional after getting into a groove after his third start. He’s had a wonderful 2.49 ERA in eight starts and 43.1 innings since.

Now, it falls on Jarred Kelenic to make the leap like Gilbert did

Kelenic struggled mightily his first time up, we all know that. Even after a bit of a struggle in Tacoma, he was able to turn it around, earning the call back to Seattle. The question on everyone’s minds was about his patience and adaptability at the plate. Had he learned enough in the second short stint in Tacoma to translate to major league success.

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So far, it’s been a mixed bag. Yes, he broke the massive 0-fer that he was stuck in, and actually has a hit in all three games that he has played in so far. During that time, he is 3-13 with six strikeouts. He’s hitting the ball better, but 2 strikeouts in each game is a bit worrisome.

However, I feel like we are about to see more improvement from Kelenic. During those first three games, he didn’t have a walk, multi-hit game, or extra-base hit. I’m not one to usually make guarantees, but I feel pretty strongly we are going to see one of those occur in the two games coming up against Colorado.

I understand that it’s a short series and that German Marquez is on the mound to start the series. Still, with eight walks, an HBP, two 2Bs, and 2 HRs, I feel pretty confident that he is going to have a good game during the short series.

Jarred Kelenic is a confident guy, and you can see the talent there that landed him as one of the top prospects in baseball, as well as the Mariners top prospect. He’s going to show that in the Colorado series, and continue on the road to improvement.