Speaking on MLB Network on Monday morning, Seattle Mariners executive Jerry Dipoto revealed multiple pieces of interesting information regarding top prospect Colt Emerson. And it's information that affects both the short and the long-term.

Emerson, 20, is the No. 7 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. He is currently playing for Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .265 with a homer, five RBIs and two stolen bases. On the negative front, he has just a .321 on-base percentage, with only two walks in 49 at-bats.

He just signed an eight-year contract extension worth $95 million. There is an option for a ninth year.

Dipoto was asked about how close Emerson is to the big leagues, and after answering that, he revealed something he told Emerson during the negotiation process.

"He’s as close as they come. It’s part—and it’s why we did what we did with the contract—was, you know, Colt is trending toward a 20-year-old debut. He doesn’t turn 21 until July.

Generally speaking, young players who get to the big leagues that soon, who are as well-rounded and polished as Colt is, tend to play long careers. And if you get to the big leagues as a 20-year-old, that means you’re going to get to free agency at a very young age.

And our goal here was to make sure that we had a marriage with Colt set up through what should be some of the most productive years of his career. And, you know, I said it to him—and I didn’t say it jokingly—if we do this right, you know, we drafted Colt in the first round, we signed him, gave him his bonus, and he’s now progressed through the system very quickly.

We just did an eight-year deal with an option for a ninth. And if we do it right, we’ll sit down and do three contracts, and he'll be a lifetime Mariner. He’s a wonderful young man, truly. I mean, as good as they come.

And that is in addition to filling up all of the boxes in terms of your polish as a player."

It's unclear at this point when Emerson will be brought up to the big leagues, but it certainly feels like it's coming soon. When he does, he figures to play third base.

Regardless of that, it was interesting to hear Dipoto talk about the idea of doing three contracts with Emerson and making him a lifetime Mariner. Even at 20 years old, the Mariners are thinking that Emerson is a player worth building around for a long time.

The Mariners will play the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. PT.

The latest edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast is out, where we break down the sweep of the Astros, the offensive breakout and talk about some future roster questions involving Luis Castillo, Emerson Hancock, Emerson, Leo Rivas and Dominic Canzone.

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