Jarred Robert Kelenic ( ; born July 16, 1999) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). Kelenic was drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and was traded to the Mariners later that year. He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Amateur career

Kelenic attended

Waukesha West High School Waukesha West High School is one of three public high schools located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The high school was established in 1993. History Email threat and subsequent evacuation On December 3, 2021, almost two weeks after the Waukesha Chr ...

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Its population was 71,158 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Village of Waukesha. History The area tha ...

. In 2016, he was named MVP of

USA Baseball USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseba ...

's U-18 team that won gold at the Pan American Games. He committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

. In July 2017, Kelenic participated in the High School Home Run Derby at

Marlins Park LoanDepot Park is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on the site of the former Miami Orange Bowl in Little Havana about west of Downtown Miam ...

. Later that month, he played in the

Under Armour All-America Baseball Game The Under Armour High School All-America Baseball Game is a high school baseball all-star game held annually to spotlight the United States' top high school players who are juniors or seniors. The game is played in late July or August, at Wrigley ...

. He again played for Team USA in 2017 and won a gold medal for the second consecutive year.

Professional career

New York Mets

Kelenic was considered one of the top prospects for the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He was drafted sixth overall by the

and signed with the team for $4.5 million. After signing with the Mets, Kelenic was assigned to the Rookie League

Gulf Coast League Mets The Florida Complex League Mets are a Rookie-level affiliate for the New York Mets, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Mets. The team plays its home games ...

before being promoted to the Rookie League

Kingsport Mets The Kingsport Mets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1921 to 2020. They were located in Kingsport, Tennessee, and were last named for the team's major league affiliate, the New York Mets. The team played its home ga ...

of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in July. In 56 games between the two clubs, he slashed .286/.371/.468 with six home runs, 42 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases.

Seattle Mariners

2018 to 2020

On December 3, 2018, the Mets traded Kelenic,

Jay Bruce Jay Allen Bruce (born April 3, 1987) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and New Y ...

Gerson Bautista Gerson Bautista (born May 31, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the New York Mets in 2018 and also played for the Seattle Mariners ...

Justin Dunn Justin Warren Dunn (born September 22, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners. Dunn played college baseball at Boston ...

and

Anthony Swarzak Anthony Ray Swarzak (born September 10, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Chica ...

to the

in exchange for

Robinson Canó Robinson José Canó Mercedes (; born October 22, 1982) is a Dominican-American professional baseball second baseman who is currently a free agent. He previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Die ...

Edwin Díaz Edwin Orlando Díaz Laboy (born March 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Seattle Mariners. Within two months of his MLB debut, Díaz brok ...

, and $20 million. He began 2019 with the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. Kelenic was promoted to the

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the region. They play the ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League in May. Kelenic was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game. In August, he was promoted to the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. Over 117 games between the three clubs, he slashed .291/.364/.540 with 23 home runs, 68 RBIs, and twenty stolen bases. He was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the S ...

following the season. Kelenic did not appear in a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, and spent the summer at Seattle's training camp.

2021

In February 2021, Kelenic stated that the Mariners had kept him in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

during the 2020 season because he had refused to sign an extension. His comments occurred after a video of Mariners CEO

Kevin Mather Kevin Mather is an American former professional baseball executive and accountant. He is a minority owner of the Seattle Mariners, which he served as the president of from 2014 until 2021. Early life and career Mather grew up in Madison, Wiscons ...

speaking to a rotary club was posted online. Mather indicated that Kelenic and fellow Mariners prospect

Logan Gilbert Logan Keith Gilbert (born May 5, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Gilbert attended Wekiva High School in Apopka, Florida. He was not drafted out of high sc ...

would start the 2021 season in the minor leagues, keeping them under team control for an extra year before

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

. After the comments became public, Kelenic said that the Mariners had offered him a contract extension and had told him multiple times that he would have appeared with the major league team in 2020 had he signed it. Instead, Kelenic spent the 2020 season at the team's alternate training site. In response, Mariners

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Jerry Dipoto Gerard Peter Dipoto (born May 24, 1968) is an American baseball executive and former professional player. He is currently the President of Baseball Operations for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and previously worked in front office ...

said that Kelenic was not yet ready to play on the major league team. To begin the 2021 season, Kelenic was assigned to the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

of the Triple-A West League. On May 13, 2021, Kelenic was added to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut that day as the starting left fielder against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

, going hitless in four at-bats. The next day, on May 14, Kelenic recorded his first MLB hit, a two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning for an estimated distance of 403 feet. On June 7, 2021, amid a 0-39 slump, he was sent down to AAA. In June 2021, Kelenic was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. Kelenic finished the 2021 season batting .181/.265/.350 with 14 home runs and 43 RBIs in 93 games.

2022

In May 2022, he was optioned to AAA after hitting .140/.219/.291 over 30 games. In 54 games for Tacoma, Kelenic batted .288, with an OBP of .353, and an OPS of .903. He was then called back up to the majors on July 31, replacing Julio Rodríguez, who had been placed on the injured list after getting hit by a pitch. At the end of the 2022 season, Kelenic had a career batting average of .168, second to

John Vukovich John Christopher Vukovich (July 31, 1947 – March 8, 2007), nicknamed "Vuk" or "Johnny Vuk", was an American professional baseball utility infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB),

for lowest in history for batters with more than 550 plate appearances.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelenic, Jarred 1999 births Living people Baseball players from Milwaukee Major League Baseball outfielders Seattle Mariners players Gulf Coast Mets players Kingsport Mets players West Virginia Power players Modesto Nuts players Arkansas Travelers players Peoria Javelinas players Tacoma Rainiers players