Where do we stand on Kelenic?

[D-train]

From a scouting report

Physical Description: Strong, sturdy, muscled build. Thick lower half, broad shoulders and barrel chested. Physique is matured and optimized. Shows good power and speed in impressive athletic package. Explosive, fluid movements. Unmatched competitive drive with extreme personal expectations. Has yet to face extended adversity in performance.

Interesting it's in that description. I've commented before, it's said you like to see a guy struggle a bit as they are promoted through the minors, builds character? It's tough to learn about it after you have been called up to the majors

He didn't struggle in AAA at all in 2021 so that wouldn't have worked either..

[GL_Storm]

I'm mainly worried about the possibility that he has been taking prohibited substances. Was he anywhere near this strong last year?

Yes

[D-train]

He has hit 1 HR every ~14 PAs this season and hit one every ~27 PAs prior to this season. Small sample combined with improved hitting approach vs increased strength though.

[Donn Beach]

PEDs don't help you lay off curve balls. I have to believe his early success has more to do with that than powering home runs

[GL_Storm]

From a scouting report

Interesting it's in that description. I've commented before, it's said you like to see a guy struggle a bit as they are promoted through the minors, builds character? It's tough to learn about it after you have been called up to the majors

He didn't struggle in AAA at all in 2021 so that wouldn't have worked either..

I've written about this a few times. There were numerous reports about pitching being down in the PCL in 2021, presumably because of the lost year in 2020. But nobody realized this until the season was well on it's way. So when Jarred dominated AAA pitching in 2021, it simply wasn't reflective of where he was as a hitter at the time, which was probably closer to A+/AA level of proficiency.

But when he got sent down in 2022, he actually did struggle quite a bit at first. This is also something I wrote about last year, around August I believe. But after a few weeks in AAA, he calmed down and started taking more pitches and dramatically cut down on his whiffs and K's and frankly became a different hitter overnight. There was one game in particular that I remember writing to you guys about, where this veteran, 37 year old change-up artist just completely dominated him and made him his bitch, and it was after that that things seemed to change for Jarred. It was like the light came on or something.

And then as I followed his game appearances every day on Savant, he just seemed to steadily improve over the summer. This is why I was optimistic about him going into the offseason. The one thing I've always thought about him was that it didn't make sense for him to be a complete bust. I mean, if a guy like Dylan Moore (who I like a lot) can work his way into being roughly a 45 hitter at the major league, then surely JK can be at least a little bit better than that? I think we'll start seeing this year what the ceiling could look like.

[Captain 97]

Any body notice the knob on his bat this year. It's massive almost like some sort of counter weight. I don't think he had that last year did he?

[bpj]

Kelenic just looks like he's been putting in some hard work.

Sounds like he spent the offseason working on getting better instead of playing Nintendo all offseason like most of these guys.

If he has turned it around, he earned it.

Makes me wonder what these managers/coaches even do that these guys only seem to get better after seeking help from outside the organization.

They seem more like facilitators than coaches. They're just there to keep these guys happy.

[Big_Maple]

Any body notice the knob on his bat this year. It's massive almost like some sort of counter weight. I don't think he had that last year did he?

I am afraid that I am unable to speak knowledgeably about the size of his knob.

He does seem to adjust his cup more, if that helps.

[Coeurd’Alene J]

Any body notice the knob on his bat this year. It's massive almost like some sort of counter weight. I don't think he had that last year did he?

He talked about it during his interview at spring training. New this year


https://youtu.be/zwlopBAwjVo

At the 6:06 mark he explains the bat was custom fitted

[bpj]

Any body notice the knob on his bat this year. It's massive almost like some sort of counter weight. I don't think he had that last year did he?

He talked about it during his interview at spring training. New this year

Pretty weird looking! I noticed one of the Cubs players was using it also.

Whatever works!

I can't tell if it's some sort of counterweight or what...