Jarred Kelenic’s offense suffers from well-known flaws

It was always going to be a process for the Braves to help Jarred Kelenic fulfill his full potential, starting with the trade.

This is a player who was picked sixth overall out of high school. As a member of the New York Mets organization, Kelenic quickly rose to the top of baseball’s prospect lists. Then everything was turned on its head.

Kelenic was part of a trade with the Seattle Mariners that brought All-Star closer Edwin Diaz to New York. That type of upheaval at such a young age may have a negative impact on a player’s confidence, and Jarred Kelenic experienced it firsthand. He struggled terribly with the Mariners after being called up, hitting for a.168 batting average and.589 OPS in his first two seasons.

Finally, Kelenic began to demonstrate some of the high potential that the world saw in him as a prospect previous season. But the struggles returned, and so did the frustration. Kelenic ended up breaking his foot after kicking a water cooler, which cost him several months. That was the final straw for him in Seattle, when he was gladly transferred to Atlanta for what amounted to a glorified salary dump.

Given the number of Braves success stories in buy-low scenarios, everyone anticipated Kelenic to figure it out in his new home, where he is not under pressure to be the guy. He was one of the Braves’ greatest offensive players for the first few weeks, but many of the same difficulties that plagued him in Seattle have returned as the summer months approach.

Jarred Kelenic has only nine hits and three walks in his last 17 games, while striking out 20 times. He’s hitting just.177 over that time, with one extra-base hit, no home runs, and an OPS of.418. Much like with the Mariners, he has struggled with his breaking pitches, notably the slider.

Kelenic has faced 58 sliders this season and is yet to earn a hit. He’s whiffing more than 55% of the time against the offering, with an anticipated slugging percentage of just.118. Hitting the heater has never been an issue for him, but unless he begins making more solid contact against breaking pitches, he will never be more than an average major-league hitter.

That is not to argue Kelenic isn’t competent. Kevin Seitzer, the Braves’ hitting instructor, has worked his magic on considerably less gifted players. But, as I mentioned before, this was always going to be a process, and it may not even be completed this year. On the plus side, Kelenic could be the greatest defensive left fielder in the National League, which is a far cry from what the Braves have had at the position in recent years.