The Mariners are reportedly going to give Emerson a chance to make the Opening Day roster, and we asked ESPN's Buster Olney about that on one of the most recent 'Refuse to Lose' podcasts.
The Seattle Mariners are reportedly willing to give 20-year-old top prospect Colt Emerson an opportunity to win the team's starting third base job in spring training, despite the fact that he's played only 40 games above High-A in his minor league career.
The top prospect in the organization, and one of the top prospects in baseball, Emerson was a first-round pick of the Mariners in 2023 out of the Ohio high school ranks. He hit .285 this past minor league season with 16 homers, 78 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He ended the year at Triple-A Tacoma and was with the Mariners on the taxi squad for playoff preparations.
He will battle with Ben Williamson for the starting third base job, as of now, and could take over as the team's shortstop in 2027 with J.P. Crawford a free agent then.
Emerson joined our Refuse to Lose podcast back in June, and you can listen to that here.
Speaking on last week's edition of the podcast, ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney discussed what teams look for in spring training when deciding whether or not to promote someone so young:
I think, and first off, I would not follow all his statistics. Early in spring training, if he's 2-for-18, that's not going to be what decides it. Because, in baseball, they don't look at the small sample sizes and take them as seriously as they do, I think, in other sports. I think the big thing is they've got to see comfort level. They have to see that the game is slowed down for him, that he seems like over time, he's going to be able to figure it out.
Emerson and Williamson should both get plenty of opportunities in spring training to show what they can do, and their competition will be one of the biggest battles to watch when everyone arrives in Peoria, Ariz. in mid-February.
We will have live coverage of spring training, so continue to stay tuned on that.
Elsewhere for the M's
The Mariners continue to be most interested in bringing back Jorge Polanco on a multi-year deal, but nothing has happened yet. If the team is unable to retain him, they could pivot back to Eugenio Suarez, who would likely play some combination of third base and designated hitter.
If the M's go that route, there's a chance that Emerson's opportunity to make the roster will become more limited.
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