Mariners Spring Training thoughts: What to do with Jarred Kelenic

After discussing the Good and Bad with Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic, it's time to discuss what they should do with him. He has gotten off to a hot start in Spring Training. seven hits on 17 at-bats are certainly noteworthy for Kelenic. It's a small sample size being only six games in and still having over three weeks until the season opener against the Cleveland Guardians, but it's encouraging.

It isn't just that Kelenic is hitting the ball, he is crushing it. Four home runs in Peoria and high exit velocities. But we have always known this was inside of Jarred Kelenic.

Mariners fans are quick to forget that Kelenic was once ranked as a better prospect than Julio Rodriguez. He was also just a few feet from hitting a crucial home run in Houston in last year's ALDS.

He has his downsides with his high strikeout rate and has appeared to have some attitude issues but those aren't dealbreakers for me. Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suarez both aren't exactly the best when it comes to strikeout rate, but they were integral parts of last year's team.

Something about how Jarred Kelenic carries himself is what I think this Mariners team needs. Last year they were 'Americas Team' who felt like they were playing with house money after sweeping Toronto in the Wild Card series. They were a team whose motto, courtesy of Eugenio Suarez, was 'Good Vibes Only'.

But as the Mariners enter the airspace of trying to win a World Series as opposed to ending a 21 year playoff drought, they need some players with not just juice, but passion and rage.

As a Mariners fan, I can't think of many moments that get me more pumped up than his two-RBI double against the A's in 2021. Pounding his chest and firing up the crowd. He also has an iconic photo holding up a 'Believe' sign at the end of that season.

This team needs the good vibes from Geno and Julio. But, I think they need a guy like Kelenic who has some dawg in him, for lack of a better phrase.

Kelenic turns 24 in July, he has a bright future ahead of him. It's best that his future is in Seattle.