Jarred Kelenic Opens Up About Early MLB Struggles

The Seattle Mariners have won 10 games in a row and have shot up the AL Wild Card standings over the past two weeks. A lot of that success has to do with the efforts of homegrown talents like All-Star Julio Rodriguez and ace Logan Gilbert. One former top prospect remains down in Triple-A, though.

That would be outfielder Jarred Kelenic. He was optioned two months ago and is using his time spent in the minor leagues to work on himself, both on and off the field. The 22-year-old's bat is starting to heat up, as is the question of where he fits in the Mariners' second half plans.

"There were a lot of different things that escalated. I had a lot of voices in my ear, and now I don’t."

On Jarred Kelenic, what led to his Minor League demotion, how he's handled it and what a return timeline might look like:https://t.co/oXbSzhN1sA
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) July 14, 2022

Jarred Kelenic Mariners

Entering the Tacoma Rainiers' Tuesday night game, Kelenic had logged a hit in 14 of his last 15 games and was slashing .343/.421/.702 during that span. He was also named the Pacific Coast Player of the Week for July 4-10 and 30 of his 53 hits on the season have gone for extra bases.

“I can help them whenever they decide to call me up. That never left. But again, I’m just down here trying to focus on my process and get myself right.”
- Jarred Kelenic

Seattle was never worried about Kelenic's ability to get on base and score runs, though. He was sent down to work on his two-strike approach, his ability to make contact with breaking balls and his capacity to hit lefty pitching. It's all part of the "process" Kelenic regularly refers to in interviews.

Rodriguez is shining as the everyday center fielder, Jesse Winker soon returns from his suspension and the injured Mitch Haniger is expected back by the end of July. That leaves little opportunity for Kelenic to grab a starting spot. That may not matter because all he wants to do help win games.

The Mariners have odds set at +6000 to win the World Series, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

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Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.