Mariners to Call-Up Top Prospect Jarred Kelenic on Thursday Vs. Indians
Major League Baseball insider Jeff Passan tweeted out on Monday (May 10) that Seattle Mariners coveted top prospect Jarred Kelenic is expected to be called-up from AAA Tacoma to join the big league club when they return to Seattle on Thursday to open a series against the Cleveland Indians.
Kelenic was acquired in a trade from the New York Mets after they had made him the 6th overall pick coming out of high school in Wisconsin in the 2018 draft and is considered the #3 or #4 best prospect in all of Major League Baseball.
A scouting report posted at fantasy baseball website Fantrax.com described Kelenic in this fashion: "Kelenic has been dominating against Triple-A pitching through the first handful of games, and while nothing is set in stone, it appears his tear at the dish will be rewarded with a long-awaited promotion. If he's called up later in the week as expected, Kelenic should be installed as an everyday player in either left or center field. While his batting average and on-base percentage could be somewhat volatile, Kelenic's power/speed combo makes him worthy of a pickup if he's still sitting on a waiver wire in shallower leagues."
Kelenic was vocal about being assigned to the minor leagues coming out of spring training going as far as saying that he felt that he was being "punished" by the club. Mariners brass was publicly chastised for manipulating Kelenic's service time clock as a means to keep one extra year of club control by holding him back for the first six weeks of the 2021 MLB season.
What can be expected from the most heralded Mariner minor league player since "King" Felix Hernandez? Columnist Jonathan Mayo mulls the possibilities in this article posted on the Seattle Mariners official website Mariners.com.