Most-anticipated debuts in Mariners history

SEATTLE -- The day that Mariners fans have been waiting for for quite some time is here, as Jarred Kelenic will make his highly anticipated MLB debut on Thursday against Cleveland.

The 21-year-old outfielder is among a throng of blue-chip prospects who Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto has accumulated since a stepback following the 2018 season, but none carry quite as much hype as Kelenic.

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That got us thinking about the most anticipated debuts in franchise history, so we ranked the top 5:

1) Ken Griffey Jr.
Date of debut: April 3, 1989, at OAK
Box score: 1-for-3, 2B, BB

Griffey’s epic Spring Training that year earned him the chance to break camp with the big league team despite having played in just 129 Minor League games after being drafted No. 1 overall in 1987. That showing, his lofty billing and his ripe age of just 19 years and 133 days old made him arguably the most-hyped prospect of his era. He was the youngest position player to debut in more than 10 years.

Even with the game being on the road, there was a buzz among the 46,163 on hand at the Oakland Coliseum. "The Kid" batted second and had no soft landing when he stepped up to the plate for his first at-bat, facing A’s All-Star Dave Stewart. But that proved to be no halt to Griffey, who famously roped an opposite-field double into the gap that came close to leaving the yard.

That wound up being the lone hit for Junior in his debut, but he went on to have a stellar season despite not winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award, which went to the Orioles’ Gregg Olson. Griffey's debut is still remembered fondly in Mariners circles and across baseball.

2) Alex Rodriguez
Date of debut: July 8, 1994, at BOS
Box score: 0-for-3

If Griffey set a precedent for rapid rise through the Minors, Rodriguez blew past it. A-Rod played in just 82 games before getting called up midway through the 1994 season, just 13 months removed from his high school graduation. Rodriguez had just as much confidence as Kelenic when he reached the Majors, if not more. Asked by Sports Illustrated if he had any doubt to his preparedness, Rodriguez said at the time: “No. I know I’m ready.”

Aside from maybe Chipper Jones, Rodriguez was the Majors’ most-hyped prospect since Griffey after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 1993 Draft and holding out until Aug. 30 to sign a three-year, $1.3 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus. Longtime Mariners manager Lou Piniella lobbied for A-Rod to be called up when the Mariners were scuffling, thinking he could provide an offensive jolt. Rodriguez wound up going hitless in three at-bats at Fenway Park, but he bounced back with a 2-for-4 game the following day.

While Rodriguez did go on to have a stellar career, both with and after Seattle, his debut was a microcosm of what was a tough -- and short -- season for the eventual 14-time All-Star. He played in just 17 games, slashing .204/.241/.204 and needed more Minor League seasoning.

3) Félix Hernández
Date of debut: Aug. 4, 2005, at DET
Box score: 5 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 4 K, 2 BB, 1 HBP

Hernández was anointed “King Félix” by local blogs well before making his Major League debut, which came on a muggy night in Detroit when he was just 19 years and 118 days old. That made him the youngest player in the Majors that season, and the youngest pitcher to appear in a big league game since Dwight Gooden in 1984. All of that is to say, the stakes were high.

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But as he did throughout his career, Hernández thrived in big moments. His first career strikeout came against future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez in the first inning. Hernández also didn’t have his best stuff that day, according to then-Mariners catcher Wiki Gonzalez, who regularly caught Hernández at Triple-A. But that’s what great pitchers do: labor through.

Bryan Price, the Mariners' pitching coach at the time, told the Seattle Times that it was the most-hyped debut in club history outside of Griffey.

4) Dustin Ackley
Date of debut: June 17, 2011, vs. PHI
Box score: 1-for-4, 1B

Ackley was one of the greatest Division I college hitters of all time at the University of North Carolina, where he batted .402 in his junior season and gave Mariners fans the world of potential to dream on after the club selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 Draft. Because of that high selection and his quick ascent to Triple-A Tacoma, where he slashed .274/.338/.439 with five homers in 52 games, fans were salivating at the possibility of what the infielder could become.

His debut was full of pomp and circumstance in front of a packed crowd of 34,345 at Safeco Field. Batting seventh, Ackley laced a single through the legs of three-time All-Star Roy Oswalt during the second inning, leading to a massive eruption from the crowd.

Ackley wound up having a solid rookie season, slashing .273/.348/.417 with a 120 OPS+ over 90 games, looking like a player that the Mariners could build around. But big league pitchers adjusted to him in the following years and he ended up being a below-average bat over his four-plus seasons in Seattle.

5) Jarred Kelenic
Date of debut: May 13, 2021, vs. CLE
Box score: TBD

Health and safety protocols will limit how packed T-Mobile Park will be ahead of Kelenic’s first game, but there still figures to be an extra buzz.

Kelenic raked his way through Tacoma in just six games, going 10-for-27 with two walks, five strikeouts and two emphatic home runs, both on Opening Day, to earn the nod.

Given his potential and what he represents as one of the future faces of the franchise, his debut will be among the most prominent in Mariners history.

Honorable mentions
• Ichiro Suzuki (April 2, 2001, vs. OAK): He drew paparazzi and was the most-hyped player to come out of Japan -- really, ever -- so it’s hard not to acknowledge how excited Mariners fans were to see Ichiro, who went 2-for-5 with a run scored in his first game.

• Adam Jones (July 14, 2006, at TOR): A first-round pick by Seattle in 2003, Jones was part of some of those talented Tacoma teams in his era, and he joined the club to replace Shin-Soo Choo, who was attempting to fill in for outfielder Jeremy Reed. Jones wound up going 0-for-3 and was hitless in his first 12 at-bats, but he was among the most exciting Mariners’ prospects of his era.

• Mike Zunino (June 12, 2013, vs. HOU): Selected No. 3 overall by Seattle in 2012 due to his rare power-hitting potential as a catcher, Zunino moved quickly through the ranks and debuted the following year, going 1-for-4 with a strikeout.