Seattle Mariners fans awestruck by Jarred Kelenic’s 482-foot home run at Wrigley Field: "He’s here and he’s perfect" "Kelenic? More like Killin it"
Seattle Mariners outfielder Jarred Kelenic has three straight games with a home run after sending a 482-foot moon shot to dead center in the eighth inning of a 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Kelenic launched the ball deep into the Wrigley bleachers on a blast that left fans in attendance gobsmacked. He went 2-for-4 to lift his average to .351, increasing Mariner fans' hope that the long-awaited for once-heralded prospect has finally arrived.
Jarred Kelenic just went 482 to dead center at Wrigley. The breakout is finally happening. https://t.co/F1u6Muc658
The Seattle Mariners have been patiently waiting on Jarred Kelenic for a few years now.
Kelenic was the player Seattle craved as part of its multi-faceted return from the New York Mets in a deal that sent Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to Gotham City. But Kelenic had struggled mightily in his two major league appearances before this season.
@JeffPassan Kelenic? More like Killin it
@JeffPassan https://t.co/EMI67QYDAP
@JeffPassan he’s here and he’s perfect
Kelenic, still just 24, has torn up the minor leagues since the Mets made him the No. 6 pick of the 2018 draft. In four minor league campaigns, he hit .295 with 56 home runs and 203 RBIs.
However, in 147 big league games over 2021 and 2022, he hit just .168 with 21 home runs and an eye-popping 167 strikeouts. But after turning in a big spring training in March, Seattle was hoping that 2023 was finally the year they'd see the talent that they'd been anticipating.
@JeffPassan This man almost hit this out of the Stadium. Breakout is here.
@JeffPassan https://t.co/vSzavzQSja
@JeffPassan Lol @ these comments for the clout..last time I saw a ball hit that far at wrigley, it was Sammy on top of the camera booth. Left center compared to right center..hope Kelenic can put it together. That’s a bomb!
Cubs fans, of course, were quick to poo-poo the distance of the mammoth blast. Still stinging from the 5-2 loss, Chicagoans' excuses ranged from "the wind was blowing out" to "the pitcher stunk."
However, there's little that can be justifiably said to diminish the prodigious power Jarred Kelenic showed at Wrigley on the warm spring afternoon. The Seattle Mariners may finally have the superstar left fielder they've been hoping for.
@JeffPassan The wind was howling out today. Probably a basket ball, if not warning track, on a normal day.
@JeffPassan Off of Merryweather, doesn't count
@JeffPassan Off a no name pitcher. Wow! Exciting.
Jarred Kelenic, initially penciled in as Seattle Mariners' opening day left fielder, has done everything possible to put his name in ink over the first two weeks of the MLB season.
Seattle has a fearsome lineup, and if Kelenic continues to pull his weight offensively, it could pull the Mariners out of their early-season team doldrums and challenge the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros for American League Western Division superiority.
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@JeffPassan It’s safe to say Jarred Kelenic is NOT an AAAA prospect 💪🏻🔥
Jarred Kelenic's resurgence a boon for Seattle Mariners
Many Seattle Mariners fans were disgruntled over the offseason as the team didn't delve hard into free agency. However, the team did trade for slugging right fielder Teoscar Hernandez in November.
If Kelenic's hitting comes up to snuff in 2023, the Mariners have a potentially gifted hitting outfield of Kelenic, Hernandez and budding superstar Julio Rodriguez that would be the eny of many teams in the league.