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Does Jarred Kelenic changing his batting stance mean Kevin Seitzer is cooking again?

Jarred Kelenic has made a predictable change in his stance, but will this one actually stick, or is it just another of his myriad of adjustments.

By Mitchell Barbee |
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It's still early in Spring Training, but the Braves new LF Jarred Kelenic is already showing off some adjustments. After working with Kevin Seitzer, it looks like the 24-year-old has implemented one of the coach's signature changes in his batting stance.

Kelenic seemed like a prime candidate to lower his hands considering the setup of his 2023 stance with the Mariners, which featured a lot of hand movement as he started with his leg kick.

But will this new stance actually help Kelenic?

Why did Jarred Kelenic change his batting stance?

Lowering hitters' hands has become a signature feature of Kevin Seitzer, the Braves Hitting Coach since 2015. Several of the Braves players have experienced instant success after Seitzer worked his magic.

When Michael Harris first came up in 2022, he held his bat much higher and more parallel to the ground. After being up for just a week, he lowered his hands, and took off, winning Rookie of the Year.

Four years earlier, Ronald Acuña Jr. came up with a similar stance, with the bat far behind his head. While he hit a few homers with this stance, like this bomb in Cincinnati, his season really took off when he introduced a new stance right after the All-Star Break.

In the first half of the 2018 season, Acuña Jr. slashed .249/.304/.438, good for a 97 wRC+. Immediately after moving his hands down, the then-20-year-old slashed .322/.403/.625, good for a 170 wRC+.

This included a 8 game span in which Acuña Jr. hit eight homers in eight games, and hit a leadoff homer in three straight games.

The Braves obviously don't expect Kelenic to explode in the same way their two most recent Rookie of the Year winners, but the team clearly believes that limiting the lefty's hand movement before the pitch can lead to more success.

But has it been successful?

Kelenic has been bad during Spring Training, but it isn't time to panic

As of the time of this writing, Jarred Kelenic has had 24 plate appearances in the Grapefruit League. He's reached base four times, once on a single, and three times on free passes. This brings his slashline to .048/.167/.048.

Obviously, this is quite bad but it doesn't mean that the Kelenic trade was a huge mistake or that the batting stance changes should immediately be discarded.

In fact, Kelenic didn't even start the spring with the lowered hands approach. In the Braves first televised game, his stance looked more like his 2023 stance than it did on Thursday.

The new Brave isn't the only Brave to get off to a slow start either. All-Star Ozzie Albies is currently slashing .071/.133/.071 and no one is (or should be) ringing the alarm bells on him.

Kelenic is currently in an adjustment period, getting used to the stance, and will likely continue to tinker throughout the exhibition matches until he and the Braves get him comfortable with the approach.

It is important to note that the young outfielder has tinkered with his stance since reaching the majors. This clip shows the myriad of stances and swings Kelenic had in 2022, where he struggled the entirety of the season.

The jury's still out on whether these changes will finally unlock the success fans have expected from Jarred Kelenic, but Braves track record with this type of adjustment is promising, even if the Spring Training results haven't been.

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