Jarred Kelenic is running out of ordinary ways back into the big leagues.
Once a top-20 prospect who looked like he might become one of baseball’s next stars, Kelenic has spent the last several years trying to recapture that promise. The Mets took him sixth overall in 2018 before later dealing him for Edwin Diaz, and the years since have only added to the “What If?” file that follows him around.
His rise came fast. After being drafted, Kelenic put up a 124 wRC+ in rookie ball and moved through the Mariners’ system so quickly in 2019 that he became one of the sport’s most highly regarded young players. Then the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season, and when he finally reached the majors in 2021, he never managed to leave a real mark.
The road since has been messy. Seattle moved on from him before the 2024 season, and he has since logged unsuccessful stops with the Braves, White Sox and Rangers. Texas has now let him go again, sending him back into free agency.
At this point, Kelenic has earned the dreaded “Quadruple-A” tag, and if he keeps settling for minor-league deals, another major league opportunity may never come. If he wants to reset the story, he might have to consider a different route.
That’s where Jared Young offers a useful blueprint.
Young has turned himself into one of the Mets’ brighter success stories in a season that has gone sideways in plenty of other ways. A lot of that turnaround traces back to a year that took him far from the usual path.
After tearing it up with the Cardinals’ Triple-A club in the first half of 2024, Young understood that a call to the majors wasn’t coming. He spent the rest of that season with the Doosan Bears in the KBO, and the move clearly did him good.
In 38 games there, he hit .326/.420/.660 with 10 home runs, good for a 178 wRC+.
That surge got the Mets’ attention, and Young has carried the momentum into his new home. He posted a strong 147 wRC+ in Triple-A a year ago and has now established himself as a legitimate big-league option at first base for the foreseeable future.
Kelenic isn’t guaranteed the same kind of bounce from a trip overseas, whether that means the KBO or NPB in Japan. But it’s a path plenty of players have taken, and it can reset a hitter’s confidence and sharpen his approach against a different style of pitching. For a player with Kelenic’s background, even a few productive months could be enough to get another MLB team to buy back in.
In Other News...
Mets Prospect Sammy Stafura Is Suddenly On A Fast Track
Sammy Stafuras path to Queens has moved quickly since the Mets acquired him on Aug. 3 in the deal that sent reliever Luke Weaver and cash to Cincinnati. The 2023 Panas graduate and Gatorade New York Baseball Player of the Year was already familiar with a fast-moving career arc after being drafted by the Reds and bouncing through multiple minor league stops, and he has now landed at High-A Brooklyn with a new organization that clearly sees more than just a depth piece.
Eduardo Nunez is among those who think Stafura could rise fast through the system, with the Mets manager saying the infielder has a chance to keep climbing quickly and even put himself in position for a big league debut as soon as next season. For a prospect still settling in with his new club, that kind of timetable raises the stakes immediately, especially for a player whose stock has climbed from local standout to someone the Mets are already talking about in the near future. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mets Pitcher Protected His Team In A Frightening Hotel Incident
Kevin Lomon spent part of his baseball life in the Mets orbit as a former major league pitcher, and now he is making an impact far from a big league mound as the head coach at Cameron High School. In Shawnee, Oklahoma, that role suddenly came with a far more serious responsibility when a hotel stay turned alarming and one of his players was confronted by a man with a knife.
Lomon stepped in, confronted the man identified as Christopher Stevens and held him until police got there, helping prevent the situation from getting worse. Stevens was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and public intoxication, and none of the players were hurt, a grim reminder that sometimes the people who have spent their lives around competition are the ones who have to protect it off the field. [Read more 🡒]
Mets May Have Found A First Base Answer They Werent Expecting
The Mets entered the winter staring at a familiar problem area, and first base looked like one of the spots they would need to solve after the departure of Pete Alonso. Instead, Jared Young has quietly turned into a stabilizing presence for a club that has spent much of the year searching for dependable production at the position. After coming over from the KBO, Young has given the Mets a useful blend of offense and defense in 2026, enough to make him much more than a temporary patch.
What makes this development interesting is that it may shape how the Mets approach first base going forward. With the free-agent market thin and trade capital likely reserved for other needs, the club may not be eager to chase an outside answer if Young keeps holding the job down. He is now in the conversation as a real part of the 2027 roster picture, which is not where many expected the Mets to land when the season began. [Read more 🡒]