Colt Emerson, who was an option for the Mariners at the start of the season, began the Tacoma Rainiers season with a bang on Friday.
SEATTLE -- Seattle Mariners top prospect Colt Emerson made some rare history on Friday afternoon, hitting a home run in his first at-bat of the Triple-A season with the Tacoma Rainiers.
Per Andy Helwig, the Director of Media Relations for the Rainiers, on social media:
Colt Emerson (20 years, 250 days) is the only Rainier in at least 20 years to hit an Opening Day HR before turning 21.
The only other AAA players to do so since 2005:
Jackson Holliday
Luis Garcia Jr.
Billy Butler
Prince Fielder
That's some kind of illustrious company for Emerson, who is the No. 9 prospect in the sport, per MLB Pipeline.
A first-round pick in the 2023 draft out of the Ohio high school ranks, Emerson hit .285 last season while playing across three levels. He was on the roster bubble during this spring training, but the M's elected to send him back to Tacoma, where he played just six games last season.
Speaking on Seattle Sports 710 on Thursday, M's President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto intimated that if J.P. Crawford would have been out longer with a shoulder injury at the beginning of the year that Emerson would have been a roster consideration coming out of Cactus League play.
Regardless of when he gets the call, the call is coming for Emerson. He will eventually be a part of the M's roster as they try to win the American League West for the second straight season.
The following comes from a portion of is MLB.com prospect profile:
Considered one of the best pure hitters in the Minors, Emerson combines a smooth left-handed swing and an advanced approach to be a very dangerous hitter. He finds the barrel consistently and can hit the ball hard with extra-base authority to all fields. He started tapping into his raw power more in 2025, with most of his over-the-fence thump coming to his pull side.
Seattle Mariners shortstop Colt Emerson (85) hits a single against the Cleveland Guardians in the second inning at Peoria Sports Complex. Rick Scuteri-Imagn ImagesAlso in the news for the Mariners
--There were a handful of historic moments for the M's in the season-opening loss to Cleveland Guardians, as Brendan Donovan became the first M's player to hit a leadoff homer on Opening Day. Dominic Canzone also became the first M's player since 2005 with a multi-homer game on Opening Day.
--Eduard Bazardo didn't pitch in the opener, but he did come back to Seattle with a gold medal after helping Team Venezuela win the World Baseball Classic. He spoke with us about the memories and meaning of the WBC.
--The M's will host the Guardians again on Saturday night at 6:40 p.m. PT. The first 40,000 fans will get a commemorative Cal Raleigh '60' home run bobblehead, presented by Alaska Airlines.
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