Mariners top prospect Jarred Kelenic tallies hits in each game of Rainiers opening homestand
Assuming the events of this week unfold as reported, Mariners top prospect Jarred Kelenic will join the big league club when they return to Seattle.
Which would mean Tuesday night at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma will be the end of the 21-year-old outfielder’s season-opening stint with the Rainiers.
Kelenic’s one-week stretch in Triple-A has been short — but has certainly had some highlights.
He collected at least one hit in each of the six games of the Rainiers’ opening homestand against El Paso — including four multi-hit games — and finished 10-for-27 (.370) with six runs scored, a double, two home runs, five RBI, two walks, five strikeouts and two stolen bases.
He started in left field — where he would presumably play in Seattle — in four games, and in center twice.
“I think no matter where he’s at, once those lights turn on, he’s ready to play,” Rainiers manager Kristopher Negron said last week.
Here’s a look at Kelenic’s six games with Tacoma in the past week:
▪ Game 1: After spending more than 600 days waiting for his next chance to play a baseball game against an opponent wearing a different jersey than his own, Kelenic said postgame Thursday he was looking to swing right away.
He did, at the first pitch he saw to open the 2021 season as Tacoma’s leadoff hitter, and grounded out to third base.
“I was going up my first at-bat, and I was hacking at the first pitch just to get the jitters out,” he said postgame. “ ... We’ve been waiting a while (to play). I was excited to get out there, but after that I got dialed back in.”
Kelenic lined out to right field in his second at-bat as a Rainier, but when his third at-bat rolled around in the fifth inning, he delivered the fireworks.
He crushed a pitch from Chihuahuas left-hander Nick Ramirez, who the Padres optioned to Triple-A earlier in the week, over the fence, and the limited capacity crowd of 2,581 gave him a booming ovation as he rounded the bases.
Kelenic pumped his fist toward the Rainiers dugout as he rounded third, and emphatically high-fived Negron before crossing home plate.
“I was pumped up just to be out there with the fans and everything,” Kelenic said. “I felt like we were a little bit slow with the bats to start the game. ... I was just trying to get guys hyped up even more.”
He followed up with another solo homer in his next at-bat, turning on a 1-1 pitch from El Paso right-hander Mason Thompson, the No. 11 prospect in San Diego’s system, and sent it clear over the wall in right.
“I even said to Dan Wilson in the dugout after my second at-bat, I took a great swing at a pitch and just got jammed a little bit and hit the fly ball to right,” Kelenic said. “I was like, you better look out, because I’m on it now.
“And sure enough, next at-bat, he throws me a fastball up and I hit that one out. And the fourth at-bat, it was a slider that just kind of hung over the plate, and the rest is history.”
Kelenic finished 2-for-6 opening night with the two homers. He struck out in the ninth and lined out to left in his final at-bat in the 12th.
The Rainiers lost, 7-6, in the four-hour, 12-inning opener.
▪ Game 2: Kelenic, the No. 4 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, opened the game with a single to right against El Paso left-hander MacKenzie Gore, the No. 6 prospect in baseball.
He lined out to first when he faced Gore the second time, and walked on four pitches their third meeting.
Kelenic picked up an opposite-field single in his fourth at-bat against El Paso’s bullpen.
He struck out in his final at-bat, but the Rainiers were well in control by then, and picked up their first win, 8-2.
▪ Game 3: Kelenic again opened the game with a single, and drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in his second at-bat to cushion an early Rainiers lead that was never lost.
He lined out to left in his third at-bat, but walked in his next plate appearance and secured a third consecutive multi-hit game on a single to right in the eighth that scratched across a run.
Tacoma closed out a 9-4 win the following inning.
▪ Game 4: For the third consecutive game, Kelenic singled in his first at-bat, this time on a ground ball to right.
He struck out swinging his next two at-bats, but pushed his multi-hit streak to four games in the eighth with a line drive to left.
The Rainiers lost, 5-1.
▪ Game 5: This was the first game Kelenic did not tally multiple hits. For a fourth straight game, he opened with a single — this time to right — but that was all he sent out of the infield.
He popped up to third twice in his next three at-bats and struck out swinging once, but the Rainiers still rallied to capture a 3-2 win in 10 innings.
Kelenic spoke to reporters postgame following reports of his impending promotion.
“All I can really control is living where my feet are at, and it’s really exciting playing here, having fans back in the stands and playing against a different team,” he said. “You just can’t beat it. So I’m excited to get back out here tomorrow and do it all over again.”
▪ Game 6: In what is believed to have been his final game with the Rainiers before he heads up to Seattle, Kelenic remained in his normal leadoff spot and started in left field.
After grounding out to second in his first at-bat, to first in his second at-bat and lining out to left in his third, Kelenic extended his hitting streak to six games in the seventh, doubling down the right field line.
But, he was thrown out trying to stretch a triple. In the ninth, with the score tied at 1-1, he had a chance at a walk-off, but grounded out to second.
The Rainiers ultimately lost 8-2 in 10 innings.
Given that Kelenic has tallied a hit in each of the six games he’s played with Tacoma — in his first week playing in Triple-A after appearing at Low-A West Virginia, High-A Modesto and Double-A Arkansas in 2019 — he said following Monday’s game the early success against quality pitching is reassuring.
“I’m really just trying to go out and have a good at-bat every single time, get a pitch to hit, put a good swing on it, and the rest takes care of itself,” he said. “So, I think, when I look at how I’ve been playing recently ... where I’m at mentally at the plate and physically, I feel really good.”
Kelenic is expected to join the Mariners ahead of Thursday night’s series opener against Cleveland at T-Mobile Park.
This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 11:03 PM.
