Kelenic (quadriceps) went 1-for-3 with an RBI groundout, a walk and two runs in Thursday's Cactus League win over the Reds.
Kelenic was able to draw the start in left field and apparently get through his time on the field without any setbacks. The talented outfielder stayed hot at the plate as well, pushing his Cactus League average to .405 with Thursday's production.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Back in action Thursday
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Kelenic (quad) is back in the Mariners' Cactus League lineup Thursday against the Reds, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.
Kelenic hasn't played since being removed from Monday's game with minor quad tightness, but the injury wasn't ever considered to be a big deal. He's been one of the best hitters in Cactus League play this spring with a .410/.439/.872 batting line and four homers.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Returning to lineup Thursday
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Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters that Kelenic (quad) will be back in the lineup Thursday against the Reds, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Kelenic was removed from the lineup Monday due to some minor quad tightness, and while he's not in the lineup again for Wednesday's contest, the Mariners are just taking precaution with the outfielder. The 23-year-old has been sensational this spring with a .410/.439/.872 slash, and has looked like a potential fantasy breakout star for the 2023 campaign. It is understandable if managers are hesitant to believe after his struggles over his first two seasons, however.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Expected to be fine
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Mariners manager Scott Servais said Monday that Kelenic (quadriceps) "will be fine," Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Kelenic was lifted for a pinch hitter Monday due to some minor quad tightness, but his skipper doesn't seem worried at all that the injury is anything that will linger. The Mariners are off Tuesday, and while it's possible Kelenic is held out for a few days as a precaution, he should be ready to go come Opening Day. The outfielder is sporting a robust .410/.439/.872 batting line with four homers this spring.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Nursing minor quad tightness
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Kelenic was removed from Monday's Cactus League contest versus the Brewers due to minor quad tightness, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.
Kelenic struck out in his only plate appearance Monday and was then pinch hit for because of the injury. The "minor" designation suggestion that it's a day-to-day situation, but Kelenic surely won't return before he's 100 percent. He's clubbed four homers and stolen three bases this spring.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Removed from Monday's game
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Kelenic was lifted from Monday's Cactus League contest versus the Brewers with a possible injury, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
It's unclear what he's dealing with, but Kelenic was pinch-hit for in the third inning, indicating it's likely injury-related. He's been a standout this spring, batting .410 with four home runs and three stolen bases.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Torrid spring continues
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Kelenic went 2-for-3 with his second triple of spring training in Sunday's loss to the Rangers, raising his Cactus League average to .421 over 40 plate appearances.
Kelenic's spring batting line includes two doubles, four home runs and nine RBI in addition to the pair of three-baggers, and he's also struck out at a 20.0 percent clip. The latter number may be almost as encouraging as the others, considering making consistent contact at the big-league level proved extremely elusive for Kelenic over his first two Mariners stints in 2021 and 2022, as evidenced by the 29.7 percent strikeout rate he mustered in that span. However, his highly promising talent has typically remained prominently on display at Triple-A Tacoma during parts of those same seasons, where Kelenic has looked like a much more confident hitter and produced impressively modest 15.4 and 20.8 percent strikeout rates in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Knocking cover off ball early
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Kelenic is hitting .364 (4-for-11) with three home runs and four RBI in his first four Cactus League games.
After going 0-for-2 in the Mariners' exhibition opener against the Padres on Friday, Kelenic has gone deep in two of the next three Cactus League contests, including a two-homer effort versus the Royals on Sunday. The 23-year-old put together a worrisome body of work at the big-league level for the second time in as many seasons in 2022, but he's consistently thrived at Triple-A Tacoma and is certainly off to an encouraging start ahead of what could be a pivotal year for his future in the organization.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Not in Thursday's lineup
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Kelenic is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Seattle's ALDS matchup with Houston.
Kelenic went 2-for-4 in Game 1 of the series, but he will be subbed out in favor of Dylan Moore with the Mariners facing southpaw Framber Valdez on Thursday.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Good to go for Game 1
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Kelenic (soreness) is starting in left field and batting seventh in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Blue Jays on Friday.
Kelenic was held out of Wednesday's regular-season finale due to some soreness after a hit-by-pitch a day earlier, but he's ready to play Friday in the Mariners' first playoff game since 2001. The 23-year-old appeared in 14 games since his latest promotion to the big leagues Sept. 22, and he posted a .180/.293/.420 slash line with three home runs, three doubles, five RBI and eight runs during that stretch.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Scratched from lineup
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Kelenic was scratched from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers after experiencing soreness from being hit by a pitch in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
Kelenic proceeded to play in the second game of the twin bill and was on track to start in the regular-season finale, but manager Scott Servais ultimately decided to exercise caution with the young outfielder and pulled him out of the lineup. Servais noted that Kelenic is expected to be fine for the Mariners' wild-card series with Toronto this weekend, when the 23-year-old could find himself in a regular role in the outfield after Jesse Winker (neck) was moved to the injured list Wednesday. Taylor Trammell was called up from Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding move and will spell Winker in left field Wednesday.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Homers twice in win
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Kelenic went 2-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 10-9 win over the Rangers in extra innings.
Kelenic has made the most of his last week, going 8-for-27 (.296) with three long balls, five RBI and seven runs scored across seven games. He went deep in the fourth and sixth innings to establish a three-run lead for the Mariners, though it didn't hold up in the end. Kelenic's season line is still at .157/.222/.357 with seven homers, 17 RBI, 19 runs scored and five stolen bases through 153 plate appearances, but the recent returns are encouraging. His run as the Mariners' everyday center fielder will likely end when Julio Rodriguez (back) is activated from the injured list, but the hot bat could help Kelenic force his way into the lineup in left field or at designated hitter.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Homers in return
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Kelenic went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, two runs scored, two RBI and a walk in a 9-5 win Thursday in Oakland.
In his first game with Seattle since being demoted Aug. 10, Kelenic announced his presence with a walk, a homer and a double in his first three plate appearances. It was just his third multi-hit game in 32 starts for the Mariners this season. Seattle will hope that Kelenic's big game is a sign of things to come as he has little left to prove at Triple-A but a lot to do to earn a starting role in the majors.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Rejoins big-league club
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Kelenic was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
The 23-year-old was passed up for a promotion when big-league rosters expanded to 28 players at the start of September, but he'll join the Mariners for the last couple weeks of the regular season. Kelenic has appeared in 40 MLB games this year and has a .124/.187/.265 slash line and 38.2 percent strikeout rate, though in his latest stint in the minors he cut his strikeout rate to 15.8 percent and also posted a .950 OPS in 33 games. Whether or not he can transfer that success to the big leagues this time around remains to be seen, but he'll get a look down the stretch for Seattle.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Passed over for promotion
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Kelenic, who owns a .244 average and .784 OPS across his last 12 games at Triple-A Tacoma, was passed over for a Sept. 1 promotion to the Mariners in favor of fellow outfielder Taylor Trammell.
Kelenic has become quite the conundrum for the Mariners as a once can't-miss prospect that's produced little outside some serviceable power numbers at the big-league level over his first 133 games. The 23-year-old has been in a solid offensive groove since his latest demotion to the Rainiers on Aug. 11 -- even his aforementioned .244 average since Aug. 17 is accompanied by an encouraging .340 on-base percentage, .444 slugging percentage, 11.3 percent walk rate and modest 17.0 percent strikeout rate. The latter two metrics are particularly relevant for Kelenic, as they constitute just the type of BB/K ratio the organization would want to see become the norm for him, but one he hasn't come close to generating when facing major-league arms.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Hitting well since Tacoma return
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Kelenic owns a .318/.400/.591 slash line with a 12.0 percent walk rate and 16.0 percent strikeout rate across the 27 plate appearances he's logged in his first six games back with Triple-A Tacoma.
It's fair to wonder how much of Kelenic's struggles in the big-league batter's box are mental at this point, as he seems to flip a switch for the better whenever he goes back to facing Triple-A arms. Kelenic's sample in his current Rainiers stint already includes three doubles and one home run, and he's back to making consistent contact after striking out at a massive 40.7 percent clip while hitting just .074 during his recent 10-game tenure with the Mariners. Given that Kelenic had also put together impressive numbers over an extended period with Tacoma before that ill-fated promotion, the organization may opt to have the 23-year-old ply his trade at the Triple-A level for the remainder of the minor-league season in an attempt to continue building his confidence.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Headed back to minors
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Kelenic was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.
Kelenic was recalled by the Mariners on July 31, though he hit just .074 with two RBI and two runs scored across 27 plate appearances since. He also struck out 11 times as he continues to struggle making contact in the majors. It's too early to fully write off the former top prospect, but Kelenic has hit just .167/.246/.329 across his first 500 plate appearances at the big-league level. Julio Rodriguez (wrist) was activated from the injured list in the corresponding move.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Will not start Monday
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Kelenic is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
The player Kelenic has been sharing playing time with, Sam Haggerty, racked up two doubles and four hits in all over the last two games, and manager Scott Servais will lean on the hot hand Monday night.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Riding pine Friday
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Kelenic is not in Friday's lineup against the Angels.
Kelenic is 1-for-13 with five strikeouts and zero walks over four games in this latest stint with the big club, but at least the one hit was a home run. Sam Haggerty will start in center field and hit ninth.
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Mariners' Jarred Kelenic: Still struggling with contact
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Kelenic, who hit a two-run home run in four plate appearances during Wednesday's win over the Yankees, has only that hit and five strikeouts across the first 13 plate appearances of his current big-league stint.
Mariners brass and fantasy managers alike are undoubtedly keeping a close eye on Kelenic's contact rate, considering his poor showing in that category was a major culprit in his May demotion to Triple-A Tacoma. The 23-year-old went on to show notable improvement across the board at the plate during his two-month-plus stint with the Rainiers, but the fact he's struck out at least once in each of his first four games back in the big leagues is at least somewhat worrisome given his prior body of work.
