NORTH PORT, Fla. --  Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and manager Brian Snitker erased any lingering thoughts of having left fielder Jarred Kelenic sit against left-handed starting pitchers. 

“He’s 24 years old and getting everyday at-bats would be a real value for him,” Anthopoulos said. “To platoon him at this time, I don’t want to speak for Snit, but I don’t think the lean is to do that. I think the lean, especially since we have a good offensive club, is to give him everyday at-bats.”

There has never been any reason to wonder what the Braves think of Kelenic’s upside. Once they took on some bad contracts and shuffled most of them elsewhere, they essentially paid $17 million to gain five years of control of the young outfielder, who was MLB’s No. 4 prospect as recently as 2021. 

Thoughts of Kelenic serving as Atlanta’s everyday left fielder seemed to strengthen in the days that followed him being acquired from the Mariners in early December. Yeah, Anthopoulos mentioned the possibility of Vaughn Grissom getting some time in left field. But even before Grissom was traded to the Red Sox, that never seemed to be a likely option.

So Kelenic can now begin looking toward the start of the regular season, knowing the Braves are going to put him in an everyday role and remain patient as he is given a chance to contribute to the bottom of what may again be baseball’s most potent lineup.

“He’s a very talented young man who is early in his career,” Snitker said. “A kid that’s tooled up like that can [be an everyday player]. So yeah, absolutely.” 

Kelenic is still an ultra-talented left-handed slugger who deserves the opportunity to prove he can be productive as an everyday player. He hasn’t yet lived up to the great expectations that have surrounded him. But there are no statistical indications he would benefit from sitting against left-handers.

Here are some of his numbers from last year:

Vs. RHP: 324 PA, .251 BA, .738 OPS, 7 HRs (41 AB/HR), 105 Ks (32.4% K rate)

Vs. LHP: 92 PA, .259 BA, .774 OPS, 4 HRs (21.3 AB/HR), 27 Ks (29.3% K rate)

Kelenic is among the position players who have made an early arrival to Braves camp. He is looking forward to getting back to where he was last year, when he was on pace for a 20-homer season before fracturing his left foot by kicking a dugout water cooler. 

“I know what I'm capable of doing,” Kelenic said. “I have a pretty good routine down, on what I need to do to make sure that I'm best prepared for the game. I'm going to just stick to that and let the rest take care of itself. I've had a lot of expectations [in] other places in terms of people saying things and all that. I'm trying to just tune all that out, because I'm just going to go out and be who I am.”

Spencer Strider’s incredible competitive nature was on display during both of the starts he made during last year’s National League Division Series. His effort in the decisive Game 4 wasn’t enough to overcome the record-breaking offense’s meager support. But his message following that game provided a sense of the determination he and his teammates would bring to camp this year.

Strider is among the Braves who have come to Spring Training with a World Series-or-bust mindset. Here are some of the thoughts he recently shared.

Who holds the Braves' record for most multi-homer games in one season?

A) Eddie Mathews
B) Andruw Jones
C) Javy Lopez
D) Hank Aaron

Here is a look at my first Opening Day roster projection of the season. I initially planned on listing Bryce Elder as the fifth starter, but I changed that prediction to Reynaldo López. My next projection might not include both Luis Guillorme and David Fletcher. Having two backup infielders seems redundant. 

The Mets weren’t happy when Guillorme added some weight last year. But when he arrived in camp on Thursday, he certainly looked thin enough to handle both middle infield spots.  

There’s no expectation Max Fried will receive an extension before the start of the regular season. In fact, it’s long been assumed he will enter the free-agent market at the end of this season. But isn’t one of the rites of spring forcing a GM to answer questions about a star player who is entering a walk year?

Anthopoulos provided a good response when he was simply asked if he would have any conversations with Fried before the season. Not contract negotiations. Just one of those conversations that makes sure the player is feeling good about his situation entering this season. 

Anthopoulos’ thoughts were included in this story.

As long as Fried remains healthy this year, this story has a happy ending. There’s a good chance the 30-year-old hurler could soon find himself with an annual salary of approximately $30 million. But there’s also a chance he’ll be earning this fortune outside of Atlanta.

MLB announced plans for the first Spring Breakout, a series of games that will give fans a chance to see future stars compete against each other. The Braves will send many of their top prospects to face many of the Red Sox’s top prospects in Fort Myers on March 16.

MLB Network and all of MLB’s digital platforms will broadcast the game. Hurston Waldrep, who ranks as Atlanta’s No. 2 prospect per MLB Pipeline, expressed his excitement about possibly pitching in this game. 

B) Jones had nine multi-homer games during his 51-homer season in 2005. Matt Olson (2023), Andres Galarraga (1998) and Javy Lopez (2003) rank second with eight multi-homer games in a season. Aaron had six two-homer games in three seasons (1959, 1962 and 1971).

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