Jarred

Kelenic

Kelenic took Royals southpaw Noah Cameron deep with a drive that just stayed inside the right-field foul pole in the opening frame. It was his second big fly of the spring. The 26-year-old former top prospect’s star has faded considerably over the past few years but his pedigree ensures that he’ll continue to get chances. He’ll likely wind up at Triple-A Charlotte to open the season but he remains in the mix for a spot on Chicago’s bench as a reserve outfielder.

The 26-year-old former top prospect squared up a 1-2 sinker from Joe Ross in the fourth inning and blasted a 419-foot (111.3 mph EV) three-run shot that increased the White Sox’ edge to 6-0. That would be the extent of the scoring in the contest. Kelenic finished the day 1-for-3 and is now hitting ,200 (4-for-20) with a homer, four RBI, two stolen bases and a 7/1 K/BB ratio on the spring.

The sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Kelenic was a consensus top-10 prospect five years ago, but he’s hit just .211/.282/.376 in 1,488 major league plate appearances with the Mariners and Braves. He spent most of last year in Triple-A and further drove down his stock by batting .213/.286/.309 with four homers in 95 games for Gwinnett. He’s still only 26, and there’s always the chance he could take a step forward. However, it’s hard to find much reason for optimism at this point.

The high-risk trade for Kelenic never paid dividends for Atlanta as the former Mariners top prospect batted .222/.279/.381 with 17 homers in 155 games over the past two seasons. The 26-year-old wound up hitting just .167/.231/.300 with two homers and a 23/5 K/BB ratio over 65 plate appearances this sesson before he was ultimately relegated to Triple-A Gwinnett for the duration of the season.He shouldn’t have much trouble finding another team willing to give him a fresh start as a reclamation project.

The lone surprise here is Kelenic as the former top prospect passed through waivers unclaimed and loses his spot on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. The 26-year-old batted just .195/.275/.268 across 91 plate appearances following an early-August demotion to the minors after posting a calamitous .531 OPS in 24 games at the big-league level this season. He’ll likely need to show some signs of life in the minors before he receives another opportunity at the highest level.

Kelenic made one pinch-running appearance in five days with the Braves. It’s been a complete disaster of a season for the 26-year-old, and he might be looking at being non-tendered and forced to take a minor league deal this winter.

The 26-year-old former top prospect is getting another shot with Ronald Acuña Jr. (Achilles) heading to the IL. However, Kelenic is hitting just .218/.289/.321 with four home runs and nine steals in 72 games at Triple-A. There is little here to be excited about for fantasy, even if he gets a starting spot for a few weeks.

This is really where he should have opened the year. Kelenic was hitting .167/.231/.300 in 65 plate appearances, with his only two RBI coming on solo homers. (He was 2-for-23 with men on base and 0-for-11 with RISP.) There’s still a chance that Kelenic will turn into a quality platoon outfielder at some point, but the 25-year-old has gotten 406 big-league games with which to prove himself, and he’s managed just an 84 OPS+ to date.

Kelenic has not been successful whatsoever to begin the 2025 campaign, and Atlanta will go with Eli White in the lineup even with right-hander Merrill Kelly on the bump for Arizona. Kelenic has shown glimpses of being a competent outfielder, but they have been too few and far between. Kinda sad.

Atlanta’s nightmarish start to the 2025 campaign continues. Profar put together an unexpected late-career breakthrough campaign last year with the Padres, which now has some additional context, before signing a three-year, $42 million in the offseason to take over as the Braves’ everyday left fielder. His absence also creates a void in the leadoff spot. The club’s recent outfield additions, most notably Alex Verdugo and Stuart Fairchild, make a lot more sense with Profar set to miss the entire first half of the season. He’s also ineligible for postseason play, if the Braves make it that far. It’ll be some combination of Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz getting the first shot at replacing him in Atlanta’s lineup. It remains to be seen whether the Braves will finally commit to putting Michael Harris II in the leadoff spot. We’ll see.