We Think We Know Why Mariners' Top Prospect Was Pulled From Game on Thursday

On Thursday night, Seattle Mariners' top prospect Cole Young was pulled from his game with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. As that was happening, there was rampant speculation as to what was going on. Now? We think we have the answer.

Seattle Mariners infielder Cole Young poses for a portrait during photo day at Peoria Sports Complex on Feb. 23. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

On Thursday of this week, Seattle Mariners' top prospect Cole Young was removed from his game at Double-A Arkansas prematurely.

There was rampant speculation as to what was going on via the internet with people wondering if Young was hurt, had been traded or was getting a promotion to either Triple-A or the majors.

While the team hasn't given an official answer on what happened, we do now think we have the answer.

Per Ty Dane Gonzalez of "Locked on Mariners:"

For those of you wondering what's going on with Cole Young, Ryan Divish said on Jason Puckett's podcast that, while he doesn't have a "hard confirmation" of this, he believes Young was taking out of the game for not hustling to first last night.

For those of you wondering what's going on with Cole Young, Ryan Divish said on Jason Puckett's podcast that, while he doesn't have a "hard confirmation" of this, he believes Young was taking out of the game for not hustling to first last night.

— Ty Dane Gonzalez (@TyDaneGonzalez) June 28, 2024

If that is the reason for his benching, it's sure to cause split reactions within the Mariners' community. Some people won't like the reason for this benching becoming public and others will like the organization holding players accountable and teaching them the "right" way to play.

Young is currently the top-ranked prospect prospect in the organization, per MLB.com. He was taken in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft out of the high school ranks and is the No. 25 prospect in all of baseball. He's just 20 years old and has an anticipated major league arrival date of 2025.

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

Young has shown an exciting ability to hit the ball hard to all fields from the left side of the plate. He has impressive contact skills, striking out in less than 15 percent of his plate appearances in 2023 while drawing nearly as many walks. He’s added a good amount of strength since being drafted and is approaching average power as he’s learned to turn on pitches, with confidence that some of the 34 doubles he hit in 2023 will reach the seats in the future.

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