Top Seattle Mariners Prospect Talks About Offseason, Fall League on Popular Podcast
It's been an eventful October for the Seattle Mariners top prospect Colt Emerson.
The No. 27 prospect in all of baseball (according to MLB Pipeline) and the Mariners first-round 2023 draft pick has been competing in the Arizona Fall League with the Peoria Javelinas.
And he's been making a major impact.
The Seattle infielder has played 10 AFL games entering Thursday. He leads the league in hits (18), doubles (eight), is 10th in batting average (.383) is tied for sixth in RBIs (10) and tied for fourth in steals (five).
nice look at Colt Emerson (#25 xwb) taking a FB the other way on the first pitch of his AFL AB.
— xwbaseball (@xwbaseball) October 24, 2024
Emerson is a plate discipline savant growing into power output. he certainly has the EVs. our rank sees an extremely high MLB floor while we eval his ability to launch. pic.twitter.com/OZd7wc3Qsh
Emerson has been taking advantage of his extended playing opportunity. And despite being just 19 years-old, he might earn an invite to spring training strictly based off his performance in Arizona.
Emerson went on the Foul Territory podcast on Friday to discuss his offseason and his successful stint in Arizona.
"I got hurt halfway through the season, missed half the season, and now I get an opportunity to play 30 more games," Emerson said on the podcast. "And right now, I'm really trying to work on just the fundamentals. Just work on everything that makes me great. I'm really just working on having fun competing, just really taking advantage of these extra reps I get. Because not everyone gets to do this. Not everyone gets to be in the position I'm in right now. So just grateful for where I'm at. ... I just want to work on getting faster, getting stronger and really working on the fundamentals as far as hitting and fielding. So nothing too tedious."
Emerson, along with other players in the AFL, are in unique positions. The minor league teams all have a parent organization. But every AFL team has prospects from multiple franchises. In the Javelinas' case, the team is comprised of prospects from the Mariners, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.
Emerson talked on the podcast about the unique experience teaming with players who will be opponents in just several months, many of whom are players he watched in high school.
"It's great to see all the big names and stuff out here and playing against them," Emerson said. "You got guys I saw on TV before I got drafted when I was in high school watching the prospects. And now playing against them and being on the same field as them, it's a great networking thing. But also, me being a hitter, it gives me an idea, it give me a mental note of these great pitchers I'm going to see later."
In Emerson's second year in the Mariners farm system, he played 70 games with the organization's Low-A Modesto Nuts and High-A Everett AquaSox. He batted .263 with 17 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 37 RBIs.
Emerson is projected for a 2026 call-up according to MLB Pipeline. But based on the team's need for infielders and Emerson's steady progression, he might take the field at T-Mobile Park sooner than that.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
MARINERS PROSPECT RE-SIGNS ON MINOR LEAGUE DEAL:The Seattle Mariners kept some minor league depth by re-signing a former South Florida product and Detroit Tigers prospect to a minor league deal on Wednesday. CLICK HERE
RALEIGH NAMED TO PUBLICATION'S ALL-STAR TEAM: Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh added another honor to a season filled with them by receiving recognition from a national publication. CLICK HERE
FORMER MARINERS PITCHERS PROJECTED TO EARN ONE-YEAR DEAL: A Former Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros pitcher is estimated to earn just a one-year contract despite solid season. CLICK HERE
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
