New York Mets Trade Wisconsin Phenom Jarred Kelenic To Seattle

WAUKESHA, WI — Less than a year after drafting and signing Waukesha West High School student and standout baseball player Jarred Kelenic, the New York Mets have shipped the young phenom to the Seattle Mariners as part of a package of major-league players.

In the deal, the Mets traded Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Gerson Bautista, and prospects Justin Dunn and Kelenic to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for second baseman Robinson Cano, closer Edwin Diaz and $20 million in cash. The move gives the Mets two established major-league star players. Bruce was due $14 million in 2019 and 2020. Swarzak was owed $8.5 million in 2019

Kelenic became just the second high school baseball player from Wisconsin to be taken in the MLB first round in the last 30 years when he was chosen as the No. 6 pick by the New York Mets. The Mets orginally inked Kelenic to a $5.25 million contract, according to MLB.com. He started his pro career with the Mets' Gulf Coast League affiliate in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

In just a few short months, Kelenic rose to become baseball's 62nd-ranked prospect.

Kelenic dominated opposing pitchers in his stint with Gulf Coast League Mets, batting .413, slugging .609 with an on-base average of .451 in 51 plate appearances. The Mets promoted Kelenic to the Kingsport Mets, where he hit .321, slugged. 509 with an on-base average of .368/.509.

According to a USA Today report, Kelenic took an unconventional route to the MLB draft: "Jarred Kelenic may be the best high school player from Wisconsin to never play high school baseball. Because his high school team's schedule didn't begin until late May, he opted instead to hone his skills during summer travel ball and with USA Baseball squads."

MLB scouts said that Kelenic, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound left-handed centerfielder could develop into a five-tool player after performing as a standout with Team USA. Prior to his junior year at Waukesha West, Kelenic led USA Baseball to the gold medal at the Pan American Games.

The five tools for position players are 1) Hitting 2) Power 3) Running 4) Fielding and 5) Throwing.

"I simply just say that ever since I was really young, I've had the highest expectations possible," Kelenic said in a Journal Sentinel report. "When people tell me, 'You have the chance to be No. 1, a first-round pick, top 10' … I expect that out of myself. That's who I am. But at the same time, it never really hit the public eye until the past two years."

The Mets see Kelenic as the best high school hitting prospect in the entire draft.

According to Fangraphs: "Kelenic makes so much look easy that you forget how tooled-up he is. He's an [above-average] runner with a [great] arm, but Kelenic's advanced feel for loud, all-fields contact is what has him up here. He could hit, hit for power, and stay in center field. He's rumored to be playing for a travel team this spring to allow scouts more looks than the short high-school season would allow."

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 30: New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon speaks to the media prior to a game against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on September 30, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images