After a brief stint on the South Side, former first-round pick Jarred Kelenic heads to Texas on a minor-league deal, aiming to translate his elite power metrics into results.
A former Chicago White Sox outfielder has found a new home.
Outfielder Jarred Kelenic has reportedly signed a Minor League deal with the Texas Rangers. This move comes after the White Sox designated the former first-round pick for assignment back on May 25.
The South Siders originally signed Kelenic to a Minor League deal back in January. The 26-year-old was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training and was hoping to make Chicago’s Opening Day roster.
Although he was not included on the team’s Opening Day roster, he showed some power down at Triple-A Charlotte to start the season. Kelenic slashed .202/.346/.464 with six home runs, four doubles, 18 RBI, and seven stolen bases across 26 contests.
The White Sox then promoted Kelenic to the Major League roster in late April. He made his season debut on April 29 against the Angels and saw consistent at-bats in his time with Chicago.
The results, though, simply weren’t there.
He batted just .226 with one home run, two doubles, and four RBI across 19 games, and his strikeouts were becoming a problem at the bottom of the order. Kelenic had a 37.1% whiff rate and a 33.9% strikeout rate in 59 plate appearances.
The White Sox eventually gave up on Kelenic to make way for Rikuu Nishida on the active roster. They designated him for assignment on May 25, and the former top prospect elected free agency instead of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Charlotte.
It was a bit interesting that Chicago gave up on Kelenic after only four weeks. While his early-season numbers weren’t anything special, his strong metrics suggested that better days could have been in store.
Kelenic had a .368 xwOBA, a .526 expected slugging, a 95.5 mph average exit velocity, a 24.2% barrel rate, a 54.5% hard-hit rate, and a 42.4% launch angle-sweet spot rate. All six of those metrics ranked in the upper half of the league in a small sample size.
Kelenic will now look to make an impact for another Major League ballclub. He will provide some outfield depth for the Rangers in the minors and will immediately report to Triple-A Round Rock.
There’s no doubt that Kelenic had his fair share of struggles with the White Sox to begin the season. That’s ultimately why the front office decided it was best to move on from him after only 19 games.
Kelenic will now have a chance to prove himself with a new team.
