This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat e-newsletter. To learn the complete e-newsletter, click on right here. And subscribe to get it repeatedly in your inbox.
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and supervisor Brian Snitker erased any lingering ideas of getting left fielder Jarred Kelenic sit towards left-handed beginning pitchers.
“He’s 24 years outdated and getting on a regular basis at-bats could be an actual worth for him,” Anthopoulos mentioned. “To platoon him presently, I don’t wish to communicate for Snit, however I don’t assume the lean is to do this. I believe the lean, particularly since we have now an excellent offensive membership, is to provide him on a regular basis at-bats.”
There has by no means been any cause to marvel what the Braves consider Kelenic’s upside. As soon as they took on some unhealthy contracts and shuffled most of them elsewhere, they primarily paid $17 million to realize 5 years of management of the younger outfielder, who was MLB’s No. 4 prospect as not too long ago as 2021.
Ideas of Kelenic serving as Atlanta’s on a regular basis left fielder appeared to strengthen within the days that adopted him being acquired from the Mariners in early December. Yeah, Anthopoulos talked about the potential of Vaughn Grissom getting a while in left area. However even earlier than Grissom was traded to the Crimson Sox, that by no means gave the impression to be a probable possibility.
So Kelenic can now start trying towards the beginning of the common season, figuring out the Braves are going to place him in an on a regular basis position and stay affected person as he’s given an opportunity to contribute to the underside of what could once more be baseball’s most potent lineup.
“He’s a really gifted younger man who’s early in his profession,” Snitker mentioned. “A child that’s tooled up like that may [be an everyday player]. So yeah, completely.”
Kelenic remains to be an ultra-talented left-handed slugger who deserves the chance to show he could be productive as an on a regular basis participant. He hasn’t but lived as much as the good expectations which have surrounded him. However there are not any statistical indications he would profit from sitting towards left-handers.
Listed below are a few of his numbers from final 12 months:
Vs. RHP: 324 PA, .251 BA, .738 OPS, 7 HRs (41 AB/HR), 105 Ks (32.4% Okay fee)
Vs. LHP: 92 PA, .259 BA, .774 OPS, 4 HRs (21.3 AB/HR), 27 Ks (29.3% Okay fee)
Kelenic is among the many place gamers who’ve made an early arrival to Braves camp. He’s trying ahead to getting again to the place he was final 12 months, when he was on tempo for a 20-homer season earlier than fracturing his left foot by kicking a dugout water cooler.
“I do know what I am able to doing,” Kelenic mentioned. “I’ve a reasonably good routine down, on what I must do to be sure that I am greatest ready for the sport. I will simply keep on with that and let the remaining maintain itself. I’ve had plenty of expectations [in] different locations by way of individuals saying issues and all that. I am attempting to only tune all that out, as a result of I am simply going to exit and be who I’m.”
