PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Friday will be a big night for Seattle Mariners rookie Colt Emerson.

Much like Cole Young just got in Pittsburgh, Emerson will get the homecoming treatment. The Zanesville, Ohio native will play his first professional game in his home state when the Mariners take on the Cleveland Guardians on Friday at 4:10 p.m. PT.

But as much excitement as there is around Emerson's return, there's also the realization that his return comes amid some struggles.

The prized 20-year-old, who made his debut in mid-May, is now hitting just .206 with six home runs and 16 RBIs in his first taste of major league action.

More specifically, he's hitting .105 over his last seven games and .149 over his last 15. The strikeout rate has risen, as have the chases. He's been susceptible to the fastball above the letters and the curveball in the dirt.

He's certainly had some nice moments, including back-to-back home run games in Washington earlier this month, but the growing pains are real.

We spoke to ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on Wednesday's 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast about Emerson and what you look for to make sure a young player is not being overwhelmed and overmatched.

"I think a lot of times managers and general managers will have a player like that, a young player, and they'll stick them in the bottom of the lineup or in the bottom half of the lineup, and they'll just say, "Hey, just grow." There'll be periods where they'll perform well, as Colt did earlier on, and there's a clamoring for, "Hey, he's ready to be at the top of the lineup." That's just not the case because there's always adjustments going on for young players. Someone like Colt plays well early, and you know there are going to be adjustments to him by opposing pitchers, and now it's up to him to make the adjustments to the adjustments.

A recent example this last year, Jac Caglianone was one of the most touted prospects in baseball. He got called up by the Royals, and man, he struggled. He's trying to figure it out, hitting major league pitching, greater velocity than ever, breaking balls all over the place. And there were times that looked really ugly, and you wondered if the Royals were going to send him back down, but they just said, 'Hey, we're going to run you out there. You get the plate appearances, you're going to grow, you're going to learn, and it'll eventually come together.'

And he is crushing it, and there will be a time, I think, when that happens with Colt, but he's still going through that process—the adjustments to the adjustments."

The Mariners will send Luis Castillo to the mound on Friday against Joey Cantillo. In addition to Emerson, Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone are also getting homecomings in Ohio.

The most recent edition of 'Refuse to Lose Territory' is out, with thoughts on my visit to Pittsburgh, Bryan Woo's viral press conference and more. You can listen here, or you can watch below.

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