There’s a choice for Jarred Kelenic. That is a truth. In practice games, Jarred Kelenic is also hitting incredibly poorly.
Also fact Jarred Kelenic is supposedly going to platoon with Adam Duvall. Is that true? Yes, that has been said, but the actual games haven’t begun yet. Thus, not quite true. Will Alex Anthopoulos follow through on the plan, or will he take a different approach than he did with the other two players?
THE ADAM DUVALL CASE
The Braves dealt Adam Duvall to the Reds in July of 2018 in exchange for Preston Tucker, Matt Wisler, and Lucas Sims. Regretfully, Duvall performed appallingly, with a.344 OPS in 57 PAs. Duvall still had a 2020 option, which Anthopoulos exercised to send him to Gwinnett for the most of the campaign. They wanted him to address the issue they had noticed with his swing, AAA. Unsurprisingly, he managed to figure things out (.965 OPS in 429 AAA PAs). He was called up to Atlanta at the end of July, where he finished the season with an OPS of.882. He has an average OPS of about.800 since 2019.
THE ORLANDO ARCIA CASE
In April of 2021,4 games into the season, the Braves traded Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka for Orlando Arcia. Arcia, in a ridiculously small sample, was horrible for the Brewers and they were ready to move on. At the time, it felt like an odd trade to make, but the plan became clear when Arcia was immediately sent to AAA. Arcia was put on the bench by the Braves, who wanted to alter his swing drastically. A month later, Arcia made his debut with Gwinnett. Like Duvall, Arcia flourished with the new swing, he dropped his hands quickly to get the bat into the zone longer, and he carried a .932 OPS in 229 AAA PAs. In his 6 years with Milwaukee, he carried a career .658 OPS in 1876 PAs. In Atlanta, that OPS has been .728 in 845 PAs.
WILL THERE BE A CASE OF JARRED KELENIC?
Surprisingly, at least to me, the Braves decided to go with 5 outfielders on the roster: Forrest Wall, Jarred Kelenic, Adam Duvall, Michael Harris II, and Ronald Acuña Jr. The plan is for Duvall and Kelenic to platoon, but is that just AA saying what Kelenic wants to hear for now, rather than the actual truth? If the Braves, like they did with Duvall and Arcia, are truly revamping an entire swing, would it be wise to send Kelenic to AAA to get comfortable with the swing, then come up crushing? There’s no doubt that the defensive side will be fine should they choose this strategy.
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