The Seattle Mariners are less than two months away from reporting to spring training at the team's complex in Peoria, Ariz.

The Mariners will have lofty expectations on the heels of the best postseason run in franchise history and could still make more additions to the team to help get over the hump in 2026.

With that being said, here's what I want to see from Seattle next season:

1.) Bryan Woo becomes team's undisputed ace

When Logan Gilbert was announced as the team's Opening Day starter in spring training, he took the reigns from veteran Luis Castillo, who started on Opening Day in both 2023 and 2024.

Gilbert, while expressing excitement, made sure to compliment Castillo and shared that all five of starting pitchers of the rotation are Opening Day-quality.

That statement was proven true in 2025.

Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller all spent varying times on the injured list with respective ailments. In their stead, Bryan Woo posted a career-best season.

Woo posted a 2.94 ERA and struck out 198 batters in 186.2 innings pitched across 30 starts and made his first career All-Star game.

Despite Woo's success, his secondary offerings are a work in process. His sweeper progressed nicely in 2025 (.186 opposing batting average, 46.3% whiff rate, 25.5% put-away rate).

Woo's slider also had positive numbers (.192 opposing BA, 36.1% whiff rate) but he threw his slider and sweeper a combined 544 times in '25 compared to 1,977 offerings with his fastballs (his four-seam was thrown 1,279 times).

If Woo can work in his off-speed offerings more often while maintaining their effectiveness, he could legitimately make a jump from All-Star to Cy Young finalist.

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2.) Colt Emerson gets his opportunity

Seattle's top minor leaguer and the No. 9 overall prospect in baseball (per MLB Pipeline) will likely have an opportunity to break camp on the Opening Day roster.

It's been reported all offseason that if the team doesn't add a third baseman this offseason, Ben Williamson will likely be the team's starter in 2026 and Emerson will have an opportunity to compete for the job.

The Mariners aren't an organization that rushes prospects and the team won't rush Emerson if they don't feel he's ready. But they gave him valuable major league experience by placing him on the taxi squad for the postseason.

Emerson also got a brief taste of major league competition when he received at-bats in the team's intersquad scrimmage games before the playoffs.

If Emerson impresses in spring training, there's no reason he shouldn't be on the team's Opening Day roster and it would be be a disservice to start him in Triple-A, despite his lack of experience with the Tacoma Rainiers.

Emerson slashed .285/.383/.458 with an .841 OPS in 130 games across High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. He also hit 28 doubles, six triples and 16 home runs with 78 RBIs.

3.) Julio Rodriguez puts together a full season of excellence

As great as Julio Rodriguez has been since he made his major league debut in 2022 (three All-Star selections in four seasons), there's been an unfortunate narrative that has followed his career.

Rodriguez doesn't play well in the first half of the season.

His second halves though have been fringe-MVP level.

Rodriguez opted to skip the All-Star game this past year in order to prepare for the team's eventual postseason run in the second half.

From Opening Day to the All-Star break, Rodriguez slashed .252/.313/.417 with a .731 OPS in 95 games. He hit 17 doubles, three triples and 14 homers with 50 RBIs during that stretch and stole 17 bases.

Post-All-Star break to the end of the regular season, Rodriguez slashed .290/.341/.560 with a .900 OPS in 65 games. He hit 14 doubles, a triple and 18 home runs with 45 RBIs in the second half and swiped 13 bases.

Rodriguez is already one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball year-round. If he can put together an entire season of excellence behind the plate, he won't just be an All-Star. He'll be an MVP candidate.

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