Spring Training Thread

[Donn Beach]

JK better be brushing up on the Savannah Bananas comedy routines.....


Screenshot 2026-03-06 075856.png

I don't know, White Sox seem serious about trying to rehabilitate him. He's been working on yet another stance coming into spring training.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jarre ... 05502.html

And there's this, he has in fact been hitting the ball hard. That's the thing about ST slash lines, they really are pretty meaningless. It could be interesting what they do with him.

On the one hand, as per Baseball Savant, you can see that the 2018 sixth overall draft pick has been absolutely crushing the ball in spring training. Over the course of a season his 96.9 mph exit velocity would put him in the top-tier, while his 54.5 Hard Hit%, 18.2 Barrel/BBE% would both be considered elite

I would be a trillionaire if I got a nickel for every time someone told me I just need to be patient with him.

I'm not telling you to be patient. I'm talking about spring training statistics. You're the one that brought them up. I don't give a flying fuck about kelenic

[D-train]

I don't know, White Sox seem serious about trying to rehabilitate him. He's been working on yet another stance coming into spring training.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jarre ... 05502.html

And there's this, he has in fact been hitting the ball hard. That's the thing about ST slash lines, they really are pretty meaningless. It could be interesting what they do with him.

I would be a trillionaire if I got a nickel for every time someone told me I just need to be patient with him.

I'm not telling you to be patient. I'm talking about spring training statistics. You're the one that brought them up. I don't give a flying fuck about kelenic

Sure it is a tiny sample but when added to his overall production it is just more confirmation that he can't hit. What do you mean what they do with him? Seems you do give a flying fuck about him....

[D-train]

Trials and tribs of being an Uber driver. Had this woman passed out in my car at 7am.

[Donn Beach]

I would be a trillionaire if I got a nickel for every time someone told me I just need to be patient with him.

I'm not telling you to be patient. I'm talking about spring training statistics. You're the one that brought them up. I don't give a flying fuck about kelenic

Sure it is a tiny sample but when added to his overall production it is just more confirmation that he can't hit. What do you mean what they do with him? Seems you do give a flying fuck about him....

It seemed to me you made a prediction, that his career in baseball was over and used the slash line as evidence. I don't know if it is or not or do I give a shit. But since you brought it up I thought I'd take a look. From that article the Sox have genuine interest. So then we get to the interesting aspect. On one hand, his slash is crappy but his underling numbers indicate he's been driving the ball. So what do they do. .

From the article

For a non-roster invite to spring training on a minor league deal, there certainly seems to be a lot of hype internally about Chicago White Sox outfielder Jarred Kelenic.

That’s been the case from the moment Kelenic signed with the White Sox. The club even held an introductory Zoom press conference with Kelenic and the media — which isn’t common practice for depth pieces on minor league deals, but probably speaks to how bullish the Sox are on Kelenic’s offensive upside

That's the thing about kelenic, he was what, ranked 4th as a prospect? MLB is a business that throws hundreds of millions of dollars at questionable talent all the time. It's how dear talent is. Kelenic is basically free to mine for possible talent. I don't care now that he's no longer a mariner but teams will keep trying to find talent

[D-train]

I care more about that woman than Kelenic.

[Captain 97]

I wouldn't consider it selling low.

His salary ensures we'll find out one way or another whether he's hit the wall.

I think Robles/Julio/Raley/Donovan/Canzone++ mean we wouldnt miss Randy at all personally.

Trade him for a third baseman. Trade him for a lock down reliever. A prospect. Doesn't really matter. The problem with Randy is he'll be given at bats regardless of whether his .679 OPS in the second half is what we can expect or not. They'll squeeze that turnip like they always do.

I don't see how keeping him improves the lineup.

Yeah, you keep him and give him at bats to see if he turns around. For as bad as second half was he was nearly a 30-30 guy for the season. If he was actually blocking someone that be an issue but I don't see a reason for trading him for a reliever just to give his at bats to Robles and Raley.

His situation compared to teo Hernandez

Hernández had an underwhelming year in his only season with the Mariners in 2023. After being brought in to be a difference-making, middle-of-the-order bat, the slugger had a .258 batting average, .435 slugging percentage, .741 OPS and a 107 wRC+, which were well below the numbers he had in his two seasons prior with Toronto.

But after Hernández joined the Dodgers’ stacked lineup in 2024, he rebounded with a .272 average, .501 slugging percentage, .840 OPS and 132 wRC+ while earning an All-Star nod and Silver Slugger.

“He was hitting further down the line, and you get more of a look (at the pitcher before your turn to hit). You get pitched to a little bit differently. You get more pitches to hit,” Rowland-Smith said. “(Arozarena) needs pitches to hit, man. He’s a mistake hitter, that’s for sure, as opposed to being that guy in the leadoff spot where (pitchers are) gonna put more of a magnifying glass on you when they’re coming up with a plan throughout the day.”

I guess that's the difference.

I see Robles and Raley as capable replacements that will likely equal (or better) Arozarena's production given steady playing time, at 1/6 the cost, and then we'd have the return from Arozarena's trade on top.

Seems pretty straightforward.

I dont believe theres a production gap between Raley/Robles and Arozarena, especially when the return for Arozarena is factored in. You do. That's ok. We'll see how they do this year.

But, I would've traded Luis Castillo too. So...

We'll see.

The dude was an all-star, had 27 Dingers, stole 31 bags, had a 119 OPS+ and a 4.0 WAR and you think think that Raley and Robles can replace his production if they just get some more regular at bats?

[Donn Beach]

I care more about that woman than Kelenic.

Hopefully you cared for her. You brought up his slash. I hadn't been thinking about him but I'll be curious what the Sox decide to do. Thanks for bringing it up

[GL_Storm]

Reading the Yahoo Sports article about JK, the main thing is that he's dropping the leg kick in favor of a toe tap, which I think is probably a good move and could result in a meaningful boost in results for him. And then the other thing was changing something about his stance so that the barrel of his bat stays in the hitting zone longer. If true, that's a potentially meaningful change as well.

I wonder if changing to the toe tap will be a trend across baseball as hitters try to counter these pitchers that are dead set on missing as many bats as possible, using advanced analytics to adjust pitch shapes season to season.

[bpj]

Yeah, you keep him and give him at bats to see if he turns around. For as bad as second half was he was nearly a 30-30 guy for the season. If he was actually blocking someone that be an issue but I don't see a reason for trading him for a reliever just to give his at bats to Robles and Raley.

His situation compared to teo Hernandez

I guess that's the difference.

I see Robles and Raley as capable replacements that will likely equal (or better) Arozarena's production given steady playing time, at 1/6 the cost, and then we'd have the return from Arozarena's trade on top.

Seems pretty straightforward.

I dont believe theres a production gap between Raley/Robles and Arozarena, especially when the return for Arozarena is factored in. You do. That's ok. We'll see how they do this year.

But, I would've traded Luis Castillo too. So...

We'll see.

The dude was an all-star, had 27 Dingers, stole 31 bags, had a 119 OPS+ and a 4.0 WAR and you think think that Raley and Robles can replace his production if they just get some more regular at bats?

I think between them, Donovan, Canzone, etc. all getting outfield at bats, that the overall OPS isn't below what Arozarena would put up.

Then, on top of that, we would have the players we got back from trading Arozarena+Castillo + the $35+ million in payroll that would have freed up.

But, hey, cool we can find out if his .679 OPS in the second half will carry over or not without any of the upside, and if Castillo can keep his ERA under 4.

[bpj]

What is it you guys don't like about Brennan Davis' chances?

He had an .820 OPS in 2024, not great, ok.

But he had a .976 OPS in 2025 across three different teams.

Maybe it's lack of playing time from injuries.

He's basically right handed Jarred Kelenic (he's 3 months younger) except he's never made MLB, so 6 years of control remaining. I hope he gets some playing time instead of scrap heaping him.

Taken 28 picks ahead of Cal Raleigh in the 2018 draft (62 and 90). Ahead of Steven Kwan, Brendan Donovan, Jarren Duran, amd Tarik Skubal. Pretty good draft.