The Seattle Mariners have been safe to say irrelevant since the departure of Ken Griffey Jr. Ever since becoming an MLB team in 1977 the Seattle Mariners have made the playoffs 4 times, yes 4 times. They’ve wasted the talents of Ken Griffey, Ichiro Suzuki, Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, Felix Hernandez, and Randy Johnson. Those are some household names right there and they didn’t win sheez with any of them. But that’s the extent of the Mariners slander in this article and it’s time for a new era of Seattle baseball and a new era of Seattle sports because of this one man that will have a lot on his shoulders to be the savior of baseball in the Emerald City.
The Beginning
On December 8th, 2018 the Seattle Mariners traded away their star closing pitcher Edwin Diaz and 2nd baseman Robinson Cano in exchange for Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Justin Dunn (No.3 Prospect in SEA), and Jarred F’N Kelenic (No.1 Prospect in SEA). At the time of the trade Kelenic was ranked 62nd overall in the prospect pool but ever since that trade he flew up the rankings like we’ve never seen before.
Minor League Career
2019 was one of greatest minor league seasons for an individual player ever, Jarred Kelenic showed everybody what the league has to fear for in the future. Before his historic 2019 season was his rookie season in Milb where he put up 6 HR, 42 RBI, .286 BA, .371 OBP, .468 SLG%, .839 OPS, 150 wRC+, and 15 SB. After that he moved up to the 13th ranked player before the 2019 season and now here’s where the fun begins. In 2019 Jarred Kelenic accumulated a .291 BA, 23 HR, 68 RBI, .364 OBS, .540 SLG%, .904 OPS, 129 H, 20 SB, and 148 wRC+. Those stats shouldn’t be ok for a 20 year old and that’s when he jumped up to that 4th overall spot in 2020.
Perfect 5-Tool Superstar
Jarred Kelenic is one of the most complete baseball players you’ll see, he has the bat, power, speed, fielding, and arm. His 60-Yard time that was recorded in 2018 was a 6.57 which ranks in the top 40 for best 60 Yard in Baseball Factory’s data. As you saw from the stats above with his BA, and OPS he gets on base around 40% of the time because he has the tools to hit to all parts of the field and with his power surge in 2019 that just added more to that. Again tested in 2018 his ARM ranked in the 99th percentile with his max velo being 96 MPH which in comparison one of Aaron Judge’s hardest thrown balls was 100.8 MPH but he wasn’t only 18 YEARS OLD. And finally his fielding is supposedly really good but I can’t find stats or records that show me how good he really is so I guess I have to take the scouts’ word for it.
What you can Expect for the Future
Jarred Kelenic, Julio Rodriguez, Kyle Lewis, Taylor Trammell, Ty France, Emerson Hancock, Logan Gilbert, and Justin Dunn will all be cornerstone pieces to the future success of the Seattle Mariners. I’ve stated many times on Twitter that I firmly believe if everyone of these guys live up to their potential, they’ll be in the ALCS in the next 5 years. Jarred’s instant impact will be felt around the league and he could mess around and make the All Star team but don’t expect that. In 2020 he played 6 games in AAA which was his first time playing AAA so if Jarred starts off slow in the majors just give him time. With a new hockey team in Seattle, a contending football team, and now a new star on the baseball team, times are looking up for Seattle.
Where to Watch: Kelenic’s Debut; 10:10 EST on BSGL, RSNW, MLBN.
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