‘Everybody is really excited to get going.’ Mariners prospects Kelenic, Gilbert, Raleigh set to debut in Tacoma
When top Mariners prospects Jarred Kelenic, Logan Gilbert and Cal Raleigh take the field this week in Tacoma, it will have been more than 600 days since any of them last played in a regular season baseball game.
The three were invited to major league spring training last year after finishing up the 2019 season with Double-A Arkansas.
When baseball resumed last June after being delayed for four months by the COVID-19 pandemic, they were invited to summer camp at T-Mobile Park, and played in intrasquad games there.
Without minor league affiliates to report to, when the Mariners broke camp, the three spent the rest of the summer in Tacoma playing in more intrasquad games opposite some of the organization’s other up-and-comers.
They were in camp with the Mariners again this spring, then stayed in Arizona throughout April, waiting for the minor league season to finally begin.
This week, when they show up at Cheney Stadium, and put on Rainiers uniforms for the first time, it will finally be for meaningful baseball games.
“It’s exciting to be here,” Kelenic said after a workout at the stadium Tuesday afternoon. “It’s exciting to be with this group of guys, and I’m ready to go.”
The Rainiers will open the Triple-A West season Thursday night against El Paso, and for the first time in 20 months play a regular season game with fans in the stands to cheer on Tacoma’s team.
“It feels like it’s been forever,” said Gilbert, who is scheduled to make his first start in Friday’s game. “That’s all we’re talking about in the locker room is just getting back out there and having real competition again.”
The feeling around the clubhouse this spring, with opposing teams heading to town to play in games that count, is much different from training in Tacoma last summer, when the players reporting to Cheney Stadium could only face each other each day.
“The team atmosphere getting back in here is a lot different than last year at the alternate site,” Gilbert said. “We’re wearing Tacoma stuff. Everybody’s ready for the season. This is our home field. That stuff matters. It’s good having that team atmosphere again.”
Kelenic, Gilbert and Raleigh are all considered among the Mariners top 10 prospects, and each could arrive in Seattle sometime this summer.
Kelenic, considered the club’s top prospect by MLB Pipeline, jumped three levels of the minors during his first season with Seattle’s organization in 2019 after he arrived as part of the trade that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to the Mets the previous offseason.
The former first-round pick by New York opened the season with Low-A West Virginia, was promoted to High-A Modesto less than two months later, and spent the final month of the season with Arkansas.
He hit .291/.364/.540 between the three stops with 31 doubles, five triples, 23 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Many believed he would reach the majors in 2020, until the pandemic wiped out the minor league season. With only 92 at-bats above A-ball, the Mariners have long maintained their plan for Kelenic to play in more games in the upper levels of the minors before they bring him up to Seattle.
Kelenic’s timeline has been a widely discussed topic this spring, but he said he plans to be ready to go out and compete each night with the Rainiers, and continue to focus on his approach.
“I mean it’s hard,” he said. “There’s no two ways about it. I’m human. So, I think if anybody was in my shoes, they’d be doing the same thing. But for me, I just try to take it one day at a time. That’s how I was raised. And today I just came in, got my work in, got my swing where I wanted it to be, and tomorrow I’ll hopefully come and do it again.”
Gilbert, the club’s No. 4 prospect, is another the Mariners could see this summer, but they will be mindful of how they build the right-hander up after the missed 2020 season. Back in 2019, Gilbert tossed 135 innings between West Virginia, Modesto and Arkansas, and finished with a 10-5 record and 2.13 ERA with 165 strikeouts to 33 walks.
But, while he waits for the call, Gilbert said he’s focused on getting the most out of his work each day.
“I think I’ve always taken a lot of pride in my work and what I do on the mound,” he said. “Of course the big picture I want to get to the bigs, I want to stay there for a long time, but from a day-to-day aspect, it doesn’t really change what I do, how I go about my business.
“Whether I have a bullpen or whatever it is, I’m trying to maximize my work for that day and know that I got better today than I was yesterday. I just have to remind myself of that and really stay focused on that.”
Raleigh, the club’s No. 8 prospect, who also finished the 2019 season with Arkansas after opening with Modesto — and hit .251/.323/.497 with 25 doubles, 29 homers and 82 RBI between the two stops — is also focused on what he can control.
“It’s important to stay where your feet are,” he said. “Be ready to go and just continue to play and be ready when you get that call.”
Rainiers first-year manager Kristopher Negron, who played in parts of six seasons in the majors, including for the Mariners in 2018 and 2019, understands the situation many of these young prospects are in, waiting for the moment the Mariners bring them up to Seattle.
“That’s definitely a real thing in Triple-A and I’ve lived that life,” he said. “And I think my ability to relate to the players, having gone through that situation a lot of my career, being up and down, being hurt, going through all these types of situations you can think of, just being where your feet are is the main thing.
“It’s easy to start playing GM or playing manager in your head and watching the games, trying to tell yourself, ‘I should be there,’ but at the end of the day, you can’t control any of that. You can control what you do when you get on the field, your preparation and all that, and that’s all you can worry about.
“The more you’re in your spot, where your feet are, in your grass here in Tacoma, the better you’re going to play. The more you start worrying about things you can’t control, then that’s when your play is going to start to suffer. So, it’s just trying to hone those guys in to just focusing on where they’re at now, and when their time comes, they’ll be prepared for it.”
In the meantime, Kelenic, Gilbert, Raleigh and the rest of the Rainiers will gear up to play regular season minor league games for the first time in a long time.
“I think everybody’s excited,” Raleigh said. “It’s going to be fun to play against a different opponent for a real game that actually means something. I think not just me, but everybody is really excited to get going and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
RAINIERS INCREASE CAPACITY
Following the latest professional outdoor sporting event health and safety guidelines set by Gov. Jay Inslee, the Rainiers announced Tuesday they will expand capacity at Cheney Stadium to 50% for each of the six games of their opening homestand, including Thursday night’s season opener.
Single-game ticket sales for Tacoma’s opening homestand opened Tuesday. Season ticket packages are also available. Fans can purchase tickets in vaccinated or non-vaccinated sections.
“We are thrilled by this announcement which allows us to provide a Cheney Stadium experience closer to what our fans have known for over 60 years,” Rainiers president Aaron Artman said in a release.
“This guidance gives vaccinated fans the chance to safely gather for Rainiers baseball, without distancing, and feel a sense of normalcy that we’ve deeply missed for too long.”
Fans who buy tickets in vaccinated sections must show proof of vaccine on game day, the release says.
“Fans in vaccinated sections will have no social distancing restrictions but will be required to wear masks unless actively eating or drinking,” the release says. “Any ticket buyer who purchases seats in a vaccinated section but is unable to provide proof of vaccine at the gates will be seated in a non-vaccinated section, based on availability, or given a voucher(s) to a future game.
“Children ages 2-15 years old will need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result dating no more than 72 hours prior to entering the stadium in order to sit in a vaccinated section. Self-administered rapid testing will be available outside Cheney Stadium (please plan extra time to enter the stadium). If a child tests positive for COVID-19, no members of their party will be able to enter Cheney Stadium, and they will be given vouchers to a future game. Children under 2 can enter the stadium without masks or negative tests.”
Fans who want to receive their COVID-19 vaccine at Cheney Stadium can do so during Saturday’s game at the walk-up vaccine station in left field.
“No early registration is required, and the Rainiers staff will provide free snacks or cold drinks to fans who receive their Johnson & Johnson shot,” the release says. “The organization is planning additional vaccine dates during the season.”
The latest information regarding ticket sales, as well as Cheney Stadium health and safety protocols is available on the Rainiers website.
SHORT HOPS
The Rainiers, who formerly played in the Pacific Coast Leauge, are now members of the 10-team Triple-A West under MLB’s new minor league configuration, and will continue to play many of the same teams in the new setup. The league’s West Division also includes the Las Vegas Aviators (A’s affiliate), Reno Aces (Diamondbacks), Sacramento River Cats (Giants) and Salt Lake Bees (Angels). The East Division includes the Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies), El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres), Oklahoma City Dodgers (Dodgers), Round Rock Express (Rangers) and Sugar Land Skeeters (Astros). … Tacoma opens the season with a six-game homestand against El Paso before hitting the road for six games in Salt Lake City. Most of the club’s 20 series will be six-game sets. Wednesdays will be designated off days league-wide. … Right-hander Paul Sewald, who the Mariners signed as a minor league free agent in January, is scheduled to be the opening night starter. He previously played for the Mets organization and appeared in parts of four major league seasons with New York, posting a 5.50 ERA across 125 relief appearances.
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 10:25 PM.
