The New York Mets selected outfielder Jarred Kelenic with the sixth overall choice in the 2018 amateur draft, making him the first high school player selected.
He was subsequently one of Wisconsin’s highest-ever draft picks as a result. All five of the guys selected before him were from colleges.
He chose to play for the United States junior national team, including at the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ontario, instead of participating in high school baseball because of the state’s cold climate.
Instead, he took advantage of the fact that his family had constructed an indoor training facility on their dairy farm. In the competition, he hit .257/.386/.486 with 7 runs as the US took home the gold.
He signed with the Mets right away, and after being flown to New York to meet the media and team executives, he was given a contract and sent to the GCL Mets to start his career.
He hit .413 in 12 games to quickly advance to the Appalachian League’s Kingsport Mets, where he hit.253 with 5 home runs and 33 RBIs in 44 games.
He did not remain in the Mets’ organization for very long, though, as on December 1st, the Seattle Mariners acquired him along with Gerson Bautista and Justin Dunn in exchange for second baseman Robinson Cano and pitcher Edwin Diaz.
Two troublesome contracts, those of OF Jay Bruce and P Anthony Swarzak, were also acquired by the Mariners in the deal.
Where Is Jarred Kelenic?
Jarred Kelenic is with the Seattle Mariners but in May of this year, he was optioned to AAA (he was optioned to AAA ).