Kelenic ends Spring Training with a bang

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- While Spring Training did not start the way Braves newcomer Jarred Kelenic may have wanted, it ended with a bang.

Acquired in a trade with the Mariners in December, the sixth overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft a launched a Statcast-projected 452-foot solo homer that scorched off his bat at 110.4 mph in the third inning of the Braves’ 9-6 loss to the Twins in the spring finale on Tuesday afternoon.

Up in the count, 2-1, in his only at-bat of the afternoon, Kelenic drove a 91 mph cutter from Louie Varland out of Lee Health Sports Complex for his first home run of camp.

“It felt good,” Kelenic said. “Was just looking for a pitch in the heart of the plate. Got it, and put a good swing on it. To end Spring Training on a homer -- that’s a good feeling.”

While his .143 batting average this spring doesn’t turn any heads, Kelenic is finding his stride at the right time heading into the regular season. He and Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer have been tweaking and retooling his swing and load, and it seems to be paying off. Kelenic said his main focus is just staying committed to his approach of looking for pitches in the heart of the plate to do damage with.

Tuesday’s mammoth blast is the fruit of that labor.

“Though my numbers really haven't shown it, I’ve hit a lot of balls hard, and I’m feeling most confident in my swing right now than I have in a long time,” Kelenic said. “I’m really happy with how spring went.”

Hitting the ball hard -- and far, for that matter -- is something the 24-year-old has always excelled at. Kelenic ranked in the 91st percentile in sweet spot percentage in 2023, and he had a hard-hit rate of 45.5 percent and an average exit velocity of 90.9 mph. Last year, he also hit the farthest home run by a Mariner in the Statcast era (since 2015) when he slugged a 482-foot shot against the Cubs on April 12.

“I’m just going to keep focusing on what I'm working on and fine-tune my approach and let the rest take care of itself,” Kelenic said.

The Braves boast one of the most talented and deep lineups in the game, and the left fielder is excited to be part of a club that has found heaps of success in recent years.

“I’m just excited to be a sponge [and] learn from every single one of those guys,” Kelenic said. “We’ve got such a great group. I’m just looking forward to learning.”

Manager Brian Snitker said he’s seen Kelenic get better after perhaps trying to do too much with a new club out of the chute.

“He’s getting better. [He] started improving, relaxing,” Snitker said. “I think he just tried too hard being a new guy. But he did good. He finished really well, I think. His at-bats were really good and encouraging.”

Morton ready for 17th season
Veteran right-hander Charlie Morton made his final spring outing on Tuesday afternoon, putting the kibosh on a camp that saw the 40-year-old post a 2.87 ERA over 15 2/3 innings.

Morton surrendered just one hit and one walk over three scoreless frames of relief against the Twins, striking out four along the way.

“It felt like a decent spring, and I feel like I’m ready to go,” Morton said.

While he’ll be the third-oldest player in baseball this year behind Justin Verlander and Joey Votto, Morton said he’s kept his routine the same for the most part over the past few years, adding he feels the same as he did three years ago.

“I’m not going to change just because I turned 40,” Morton said. “I’ll change because there’s a trend of when you get older of what you have to do.

“It’s just learning from your mistakes. I think you know that your body feels different year to year, and that’s dependent on a lot of factors, like your history, your health and other things than just how old you are. Guys break down in their mid-20s and early 30s.”

Morton has been fortunate to stay healthy the majority of the past six seasons, having made at least 30 starts each year since 2018 (except for the pandemic-shortened ‘20 season).

“I go into every offseason knowing that I just went through a full year and I’m not the same as I was in February or March of that year,” Morton said. “I think the key is to make sure you’re rested, you’re ready to go back in the gym, and I think I learned that pretty early on. But it took me a while to know exactly how hard you have to push yourself every offseason. If you don’t, you pay for it.”