Emerson received time in the field during the team's scrimmage Wednesday and will be with the club for the playoffs
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners held the first of two scheduled scrimmages for the week on Wednesday at T-Mobile Park.
The scrimmage was meant to keep the team fresh during their bye. The Mariners earned a break through the wild card round of the playoffs into the American League Divisional Series by clinching the No. 2 seed in the AL.
Seattle brought up their postseason taxi squad to compete in the scrimmage, which included the top prospect in the organization.
Shortstop Colt Emerson received playing time during the scrimmage. He scored from second base on an RBI single hit by outfielder Victor Robles and played several innings at shortstop.
Emerson wasn't expecting the call to the taxi squad, but constantly used the word "grateful" to describe the opportunity.
"It was cool," Emerson said in a post-scrimmage interview Wednesday. "Any chance you get as a young guy to come up and at least fill in or be a part of this, especially in the playoffs here, it's really great. I'm really grateful for the opportunity. Especially with this group of guys. I got to develop some relationships with them earlier in the season, and to follow them throughout the season and just see the success they've had has just been really great. And I'm very proud of them and proud to be a Mariner."
Emerson (No. 11 MLB Pipeline top 100, No. 12 Baseball America top 100) was Seattle's top overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. He was a non-roster invite to the team's major league camp in spring training this year. He parlayed that preseason vote of confidence by the organization into a successful year in the minor leagues.
Across 130 games played with the High-A Everett AquaSox, Double-A Arkansas Travelers and Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, the 20-year-old infielder scored 82 runs and hit 28 doubles, six triples and 16 home runs with 78 RBIs. He slashed .285/.383/.458 with an .841 OPS. He began the year with Everett, was promoted to Arkansas on Aug. 4 and ended the year with Tacoma after he was promoted Sept. 16.
At this time last year, Emerson was getting ready to compete in the Arizona Fall League to make up for at-bats missed in 2024. He ended the year with the AquaSox, but played only 70 games last season due to various injuries, including a broken foot.
"I'm just so grateful being at this age, in this clubhouse, being able to be around these and learn from these guys. It's just amazing," Emerson said. "I just thank every staff member, every player who's helped me train, helped me work hard, helped push me. That was a big thing this year. Really, it wasn't on-the-field stuff. It was the practice stuff or it was the people going out of their way to help me."
Emerson knew he wouldn't break camp coming out of spring training, but he was able to work major leaguers and absorb information that helped him in the minors. Whether it was those relationships or his development as a player, or a combination of both, Emerson didn't look out of place among his major league and/or more experienced counterparts Wednesday.
"Walking out on the field, fielding ground balls, feeling like part of the team for the first time, it was just amazing," Emerson said. "I couldn't stop smiling. It's so cool. ... It's such a good group here. And the guys have treated me so well. I'm just so grateful for that."
It hasn't been an uncommon occurrence over the past several seasons for a team to carry a top prospect on the practice squad in the playoffs.
When both were minor leaguers, Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena and Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm both spent time on the taxi squad during their respective teams' postseason pushes.
There's a small chance that Emerson could receive playing time in an extreme circumstance. In situation of an injury, a letter of exception could be submitted to MLB and, if approved, allow a taxi squad player who isn't otherwise eligible to be moved up to the postseason roster.
But that would be a situation Seattle wants to avoid.
For now, Emerson is just observing and learning from a team that won its first division title in 21 years and is looking to make a World Series for the first time in franchise history. And those lessons could lead the top prospect to making an impact sooner rather than later.
Emerson is projected to make his major league debut in 2026, according to MLB Pipeline.
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