In the wake of recent comments by Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, it seems like M's top prospect Colt Emerson is going to get a serious chance to make the major league roster out of spring training. And if he doesn't, it seems like he's still going to get a serious chance to contribute in 2026.

One of the top young players in the sport, Emerson is a consensus top-ten prospect. ESPN's Kiley McDaniel just ranked him as the No. 6 prospect in his Top 100 and compared him to Milwaukee Brewers infielder Brice Turang. McDaniel admitted that's not a perfect comp, but it's certainly an exciting one, even if Turang is not a household name to most M's fans.

Turang might not be a household name, but he's certainly a good player to draw comparisons to. The probable starting second baseman for Team USA at the upcoming World Baseball Classic, he hit .288 last season with 18 homers, 81 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. He helped the Brewers to the best record in baseball and finished 14th in MVP voting in the National League. He also won a Gold Glove for Milwaukee in 2024.

Emerson was a first-round pick of the Mariners in 2023 out of the Ohio high school ranks. He hit .285 in the 2025 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 in camp as of now, and could take over as the team's shortstop in 2027 with J.P. Crawford a free agent then.

He has just 40 games above High-A, so the Mariners could opt to start him at Triple-A, but either way, he seems destined for that major league promotion in 2026.

Emerson joined our Refuse to Lose podcast back in June of 2025, and you can listen to that here.

We asked Olney about this comp on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose' and he had this to say:

Good Lord. If you're a Mariners fan and Colt Emerson can get close to what Brice Turang is, you are thrilled. I mean, that is the sort of comp that opens your eyes. And I suspect, and I haven't talked to Kylie about this, but I suspect that part of the reason why he doesn't think it's a perfect comp is that it doesn't feel like Emerson is going to necessarily be the high volume base stealer that Turang is for the Brewers, you know, where he's had a year where he stole 50 bases. But I think what he's really talking about isthe athleticism, the ability to get on base. Certainly, Emerson's got speed, he's got some power, and there's an ability to grow into it.

Last year, Turang was a 5.5 WAR player. Okay, that's extraordinary. Um, and I think if you're the Mariners and you get three WAR out of your third baseman this year, whether Suarez or Emerson or some combination of the two, you would be absolutely thrilled.

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