Rangers Taking a Chance on Former Top Prospect

Kelenic had previously played 19 games with the Chicago White Sox, hitting .226/.305/.321 with one home run, four RBI and -0.2 fWAR in 59 plate appearances. The outfielder was designated for assignment on May 25 and outrighted to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights five days later, with the Rangers scooping him up after Kelenic elected free agency.

Selected sixth overall by the New York Mets in the 2018 MLB Draft, Kelenic was the primary piece sent to the Seattle Mariners in a blockbuster deal that brought Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano to the Mets. Along with fellow outfielder Julio Rodriguez, Kelenic would be one of the top prospects in all of baseball as he developed in Seattle's system, being ranked as high as No. 4 on MLB Pipeline in 2021.

Unfortunately, Kelenic has been a disappointment since making his MLB debut on May 13, 2021. He hit just .168/.251/.338 with a 68 wRC+ across his first two big league seasons, and posted a ghastly -0.7 fWAR when combined with poor outfield defense. Even though Kelenic showed noteworthy improvement in 2023 by slashing .253/.327/.419 and totaling 1.5 fWAR, the Mariners chose to move on from him during the offseason with Rodriguez, their other highly-regarded outfield prospect, rapidly blossoming into a superstar.

Seattle traded Kelenic to the Atlanta Braves on December 3, 2023; he went on to play a career-high 131 games and assumed the full-time starting job in center field. However, his numbers dipped to .231/.286/.393 despite setting a new career-high with 15 home runs. 2025 was a disaster, as Kelenic posted -0.5 fWAR in just 24 games while spending most of the year in the minors.

The Rangers' current outfield consists of Alejandro Osuna, Evan Carter and Brandon Nimmo, with Wyatt Langford currently on a rehab assignment as he recovers from a right forearm strain. Although Texas has gotten a respectable 2.4 fWAR from their outfielders this season, there have been some caveats. Carter is hitting just .180 with a .654 OPS, with most of his value this year coming from great defense. Nimmo has been productive with a .753 OPS, but the Rangers need to be careful due to his injury history, along with hamstring and ankle issues sporadically popping up this year.

With the Rangers' outfield being productive but somewhat vulnerable, perhaps Kelenic could have an opportunity to finally develop into the player many expected him to be. However, he is running out of opportunities at this point, so he needs to quickly capitalize when an opening presents itself.