Fantasy News

• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Heads to bench vs. lefty

  Rotowire Apr 14, 2024

  Kelenic is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Marlins. Kelenic will hit the bench for the third time in four games, with all three absences coming while Atlanta has faced left-handed starting pitchers. The 24-year-old looks to be in a strict platoon in left field with the right-handed-hitting Adam Duvall, who gets the starting nod Sunday.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Sits versus southpaw

  Rotowire Apr 12, 2024

  Kelenic is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Marlins. Kelenic will once again head to the bench as Atlanta faces a left-handed starter in Trevor Rogers. Adam Duvall is starting in left field and batting sixth.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Takes seat versus lefty

  Rotowire Apr 11, 2024

  Kelenic is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets. The lefty-hitting Kelenic will give way to the righty-hitting Adam Duvall while the Mets bring southpaw Jose Quintana to the hill for the series finale. Kelenic has been a strict strong-side platoon player thus far in his first season in Atlanta, logging just one plate appearance versus a lefty while slashing .480/.536/.600 in 28 plate appearances versus righties.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: On bench versus lefty

  Rotowire Apr 5, 2024

  Kelenic is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Diamondbacks. Southpaw Tommy Henry is pitching Friday for Arizona, so Kelenic will unsurprisingly head to the bench. Adam Duvall will start in left field and bat sixth.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Swing adjustments paying off

  Rotowire Apr 4, 2024

  Kelenic is 6-for-11 (.545) with a double, two RBI, two runs scored and a 2:2 BB:K to begin the season. The 24-year-old has yet to get a plate appearance against a left-handed pitcher while platooning with Adam Duvall in left field for Atlanta, but Kelenic has been ripping the cover off the ball against righties. Hitting coach Kevin Seitzer credited the hot start to mechanical adjustments Kelenic made with his swing in training camp, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports. "We quieted down all the hand movement," Seitzer said this week. "Then the last adjustment was him saying, 'I just want to bang the leg kick.' He goes, 'I'm trying to do too much, swinging too hard, my timing is not good.' He goes, 'I've done this before where I've just kind of spread out and gone just a little no-stride.' Well, his spread-out, no-stride has equated into a real small leg kick, and it's helped his position on his takes." Kelenic's simpler swing has allowed him to see the ball better as well as get to it quicker when he pulls the trigger -- while the sample size is tiny, his 21.2 percent whiff rate so far in 2024 would be a career low, even though his 52.4 percent swing rate would be a career high. While his fantasy ceiling is limited by his platoon role and the fact that he's batting ninth in a stacked Atlanta lineup, the sixth overall pick in the 2018 Draft could still be headed for a long-awaited breakout.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Sits down against lefty

  Rotowire Apr 2, 2024

  Kelenic isn't in Atlanta's lineup for Tuesday's game against the White Sox, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Left-handed starter Garrett Crochet will toe the slab for the White Sox on Tuesday, meaning the left-handed bat of Kelenic will retreat to the dugout. Adam Duvall will take over in left field and bat sixth.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Sitting versus lefty

  Rotowire Mar 31, 2024

  Kelenic is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies. Atlanta will face its first left-handed starter of the season Sunday, so Kelenic will unsurprisingly head to the bench. He went 4-for-6 with a walk, two RBI and a caught stealing in the first two games of the season, which should help cement his strong-side platoon role. Adam Duvall will man left field and bat sixth versus Ranger Suarez.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Batting ninth in Atlanta debut

  Rotowire Mar 29, 2024

  Kelenic is starting in left field and batting ninth in Friday's season opener against the Phillies. The 24-year-old will take his expected place at the bottom of Atlanta's lineup against right-handed pitching as Zack Wheeler starts Friday for Philadelphia. Kelenic struggled to a .432 OPS during spring training, though he finished strong with five hits, inlcuding a triple and a homer, in his final 14 at-bats. Adam Duvall is expected to take over in left field versus left-handed starters.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Ends spring with first homer

  Rotowire Mar 27, 2024

  Kelenic hit a solo home run in his only at-bat during Tuesday's exhibition game against the Twins. The 24-year-old outfielder took Louie Varland deep in the third inning, giving Kelenic his first long ball of the spring. The Adam Duvall signing puts significant pressure on Kelenic to produce right away to begin the season, but after a slow start in camp while he made some swing adjustments, he went 5-for-14 over his final six spring games with a triple, Tuesday's homer and only one strikeout.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Signs of life at plate

  Rotowire Mar 21, 2024

  Kelenic went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays. Getting the start in left field and batting ninth, Kelenic had his first multi-hit performance of the spring. The 24-year-old outfielder is batting just .111 (5-for-45) in Grapefruit League action with zero extra-base hits and a 4:12 BB:K, but four of his five hits have come since March 10. Kelenic was making some swing adjustments this spring, so a slow start is somewhat excusable, but Atlanta added Adam Duvall last week and the veteran represents a real threat to the former Mariner's playing time. Kelenic will open the season on the strong side of a platoon with Duvall in left field.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Will platoon in LF with Duvall

  Rotowire Mar 14, 2024

  Atlanta plans to platoon Kelenic in left field with new signing Adam Duvall, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said at the start of camp that the plan was to play Kelenic every day in left field. However, with Kelenic going 3-for-34 so far this spring and Duvall being available on an inexpensive one-year contract, the club has reconsidered those plans. Kelenic could still provide fantasy value in a long-side platoon, but it's difficult to have a ton of confidence that it will happen.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: Tough start to spring

  Rotowire Mar 11, 2024

  Kelenic has gone 2-for-27 (.074) through his first 10 Grapefruit League games with zero extra-base hits and a 4:7 BB:K. Acquired from Seattle in the offseason, Kelenic is expected to fill an everyday role for Atlanta in left field, but as yet the 24-year-old hasn't found a groove at the plate. Should his spring struggles extend into the regular season, he could lose playing time and even fall into a platoon, with Marcell Ozuna potentially getting starts in left field against left-handed pitching in Kelenic's place. As yet, however, Atlanta's coaching staff hasn't seemed concerned about his performance.

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• Braves' Jarred Kelenic: In line for everyday at-bats

  Rotowire Feb 15, 2024

  Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Thursday that the team is leaning toward playing Kelenic every day in left field rather than platooning him, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports. This isn't terribly surprising to hear since Atlanta doesn't have an obvious platoon partner for Kelenic right now, but it's nonetheless encouraging for his fantasy prospects. The 24-year-old actually had a better OPS against lefties (.774) than he did versus righties (.738) in 2023, although in his career he has just a .566 OPS and 29.9 percent strikeout rate against southpaws. Atlanta feels that giving Kelenic regular work versus lefties will be the best way for him to improve.

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• Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Sits against southpaw

  Rotowire Sep 30, 2023

  Kelenic will hit the bench against lefty Andrew Heaney and the Rangers on Saturday. Kelenic has started against just two of the eight lefties the Mariners have faced since he returned from a broken foot in mid-September. Dylan Moore will take over in left field in his absence.

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• Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Productive in one-hit day

  Rotowire Sep 25, 2023

  Kelenic went 1-for-4 with an RBI fielder's choice, a run-scoring single, a stolen base, a walk and a run in a loss to the Rangers on Sunday. The 24-year-old's busy stat line had a bit of everything, including his 13th steal of the season. Kelenic's afternoon also included his second two-RBI tally over the last four starts, pushing his average and OPS to .286 and .766, respectively, in nine games since returning from an extended stint on the injured list due to a fractured foot.

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• Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Idle against southpaw

  Rotowire Sep 23, 2023

  Kelenic isn't starting Saturday versus Texas. Jordan Montgomery will toe the slab for the Rangers on Saturday, so Kelenic and his career .570 OPS versus lefties will sit down for the start of the game. Sam Haggerty, Julio Rodriguez and Dylan Moore will start in the outfield from left to right Saturday.

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• Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Snaps RBI drought Tuesday

  Rotowire Sep 20, 2023

  Kelenic went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI singles in a win over the Athletics on Tuesday, marking his first two runs driven in since July 17. He's now played five games since his return from a near-two-month stay on the injured list due to a fractured foot. The outfielder has a pair of two-hit efforts in that span and has reached safely in three of those contests overall. Next up for Kelenic in terms of unfavorable streaks is a homerless drought that's now at an atypical 36 games and dates all the way back to June 9, when factoring in his time on the IL.

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• Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: On base three times

  Rotowire Sep 16, 2023

  Kelenic (foot) went 2-for-3 with a walk in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Dodgers. Kelenic had been battling a sore foot after fouling a ball off it earlier in the week. He was one of three Mariners to get on base multiples times in this loss, and one of two with multiple hits. The outfielder is at a .254/.323/.437 slash line with 11 home runs, 45 RBI, 43 runs scored and 12 stolen bases through 92 contests. He should have a steady role in the corner outfield if he can stay healthy.

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• Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Back in lineup Friday

  Rotowire Sep 15, 2023

  Kelenic (foot) is back in the lineup Friday against the Dodgers. Kelenic will start in left field and bat sixth versus the Dodgers and right-hander Bobby Miller after missing a couple of games with a sore right foot. The 24-year-old is slashing .251/.319/.435 with 11 homers and 12 steals through 91 major-league games this season for Seattle.

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• Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Nursing sore foot

  Rotowire Sep 13, 2023

  Kelenic is not in the lineup Wednesday due to a sore right foot, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports. Kelenic is still sore after fouling a ball off the foot Monday. Notably, it's not the same foot that he previously fractured. Kelenic is available off the bench Wednesday, although the Mariners would prefer to hold him out until this weekend following Thursday's off day.

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