Mariners: Jarred Kelenic Struggling Mightily Through First Week

Through the first five games of this season, Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic has gone 1 for 15 at the plate, where his one hit was an infield pop-up that swirled around in the Minnesota wind and managed to fall uncaught on the pitcher’s mound. Coming off of a mostly disappointing rookie season, Kelenic’s early struggles are all too familiar a scene for Mariners fans.

With superstar prospect Julio Rodriguez looking comfortable in center field and recently coming through with a clutch ninth-inning double, Jarred Kelenic’s place in the starting lineup may already be in jeopardy. The Mariners have primarily rotated their outfielders into the DH spot so far this season, but if Kelenic’s struggles continue, Seattle could be tempted to move utility man Abraham Toro into a full-time role.

In his 17 plate appearances so far this season, Kelenic has struck out nine times and has looked utterly lost at the plate; he’s been unable to handle fastballs over the plate, and breaking balls down and out of the zone continue to fool him.

In Tuesday afternoon’s game versus the White Sox, Kelenic was up in a clutch situation in the 8th inning with a runner in scoring position, but fell victim to a missed call from the home plate umpire on an inside sinker from old friend Kendall Graveman. The call was unfortunate, but Kelenic laid off two breaking balls over the plate in the at-bat that would have most likely been more manageable pitches to handle.

Swinging at the right pitches remains the biggest hurdle for the former star prospect, but thankfully, there’s plenty of time for Kelenic to make adjustments. Hopefully, we’ll soon see a repeat of last year’s mid-season changes that helped turn him into a dangerous hitter in the M’s lineup.