White Sox are finding out what Mariners already knew about Jarred Kelenic

When it comes to the most polarizing (or just outright hated) player in Seattle Mariners history, a lot of fans will point towards Alex Rodríguez, and understandably so. In this century, we'd also like to give 'honorable' mentions to the likes of Chone Figgins and Erik Bedard, but also believe Jarred Kelenic is worthy of a place on the list.

We're talking about a player who at one point was the Mariners' No. 1 prospect (yes, even ahead of Julio Rodríguez) and No. 4 in all of baseball. As we wrote recently, however, controversy was always just around the corner for Kelenic, a player who had all the talent in the world but just couldn't put it together consistently once he made his Major League debut in 2021.

It all came to a head for the 26-year-old in 2023 when he broke his left foot due to kicking a Gatorade cooler in frustration. He ended up missing nearly two months of action and even though the season ended up being his best statistical campaign to date, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves in December.

Mariners fans can relate to the White Sox getting the full Jarred Kelenic experience

Things didn't work out for Kelenic in Atlanta either and now he's trying to get his career on track with the Chicage White Sox after signing a minor league deal with a training camp invite. And suffice it to say that so far in Cactus League play, they are getting the full Jarred Kelenic experience, i.e. tantalizing glimpses of promise combined with erratic and disappointing performances.

On the one hand, as per Baseball Savant, you can see that the 2018 sixth overall draft pick has been absolutely crushing the ball in spring training. Over the course of a season his 96.9 mph exit velocity would put him in the top-tier, while his 54.5 Hard Hit%, 18.2 Barrel/BBE% would both be considered elite.

Unfortunately for White Sox fans (assuming they are bothered), Kelenic has also only managed three hits in 17 at-bats, while also being struck out six times. Giving due credit to Thomas Nestico of TJStats, he has a full breakdown of the outfielder's percentile rankings in his six Cactus League games and it shows a lot of swings and plenty of swing and miss.

What this all alludes to is that Kelenic's raw power is still there but he's just trying too hard, which is in line with the ongoing narrative that the biggest challenge he's dealing with is between his ears. It remains somewhat baffling that someone as talented as him and still young, just can't seem to be able to figure it out.

Let's be clear in stressing here that we have no desire to see the Waukesha, Wisconsi native fail and would be genuinely happy if he could somehow finally put it all together on the field and fulfil his potential. However, the harsh reality is that the more times a player changes scenery and still doesn't get going, the more clear it becomes that they are the issue as opposed to the setup and the organizations.