Seattle Mariners' Consensus Top Prospect Meeting High Expectations in First Full Pro Year
EVERETT, Wash. — High expectations can be the either the biggest boost or the heaviest anchor.
On one hand, it's encouraging to have expectations. It's a sign that people believe in you and your potential. On the other hand, it can be tough to carry the weight of them.
That's not a problem for Seattle Mariners No. 1 prospect Colt Emerson.
Emerson is only 19 years-old and was drafted in the first round by the Mariners in the 2023 MLB Draft. He's ranked as the No. 29 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He is one the most highly-regard prospects across the minor league spectrum.
Emerson was promoted to the team's High-A affiliate Everett AquaSox on Aug. 5. He had been playing for a loaded Low-A Modesto team.
Just being viewed that highly less than two full years in the minor leagues can be seen as an accomplishment by itself. But Emerson isn't really concerned about what his rankings are.
"I don't really worry about what anybody else thinks (outside of the organization)," Emerson said before the Everett's season-finale against the Spokane Indians on Sunday. "I got my own things that I'm doing. And I know that if I'm myself, nothing else matters. And I'm going to do what I'm going to do do and be successful. So that's all I really care about."
Colt Emerson leadoff double in the 5th. pic.twitter.com/bKmBI9InUc
— Mariners Minors (@MiLBMariners) September 8, 2024
Learning to block the outside noise has helped Emerson continue to progress and develop as a player. It also probably helped him during his injury troubles this season.
Emerson has been limited to 70 games this season (including Sunday's season finale) with a variety of injuries. The fact that Emerson (hitting .260 this season with four home runs and 37 RBIs) has managed to develop despite missing a huge chunk of time is impressive. But according to Emerson, the injuries might have helped him.
Emerson learned a lot about his body, routine and recovery process while out with a foot fracture. That is important for a player just learning how to be a professional ball player.
"The injury, I guess, helps the learning process. It just slows everything down," Emerson said. "I was in a boot for three weeks. So I wasn't running for three weeks. You had to re-learn how to do things and re-learn stuff or learn new stuff. It's just a weird, crazy process. And I'm just thankful it happened."
Emerson is also thankful to have gone through the growing process with a pair of other top prospects, Laz Montes and Michael Arroyo, who are also at Everett.
"It's really amazing," Emerson said. "I'm really thankful for the time I get to spend with these guys and play with these guys. It's really great not being the only teenager on the team. You have things to relate on. And with the whole team, I'm just thankful for the time I get to spend with them."
Emerson has been fast-tracked through Seattle's farm system since getting drafted in the first round in 2023. And he's done nothing but proved he belongs at whatever level he's been.
And as the season winds down and Emerson goes into the offseason with more knowledge on his development process, it doesn't look like that trend will change anytime soon.
"It's the whole thing with taking things one day at a time," Emerson said. "If you're worried about the past (or) future you're not going to be as good as you can be. And you're going to be stuck in another place and not where your feet are. So just developing day-by-day is just the key thing."
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