Baseball America expert shades Colt Emerson in the politest way possible

It's been quite an eventful couple of weeks for Colt Emerson, from hitting a home run on Opening Day of the Triple-A season, to leaving Saturday's first game of a Rainiers doubleheader due to fouling a ball off his right foot. (Fortunately X-rays came back negative and he's day-to-day.) Oh, and the small matter of signing an eight-year, $95 million deal with the Mariners, the largest ever for a player yet to make their Major League debut.

The deal also includes a ninth-year club option and with escalators has the potential to exceed $130 million, but irrespective, the Mariners clearly think a lot of Emerson and wanted to get his locked up long-term as soon as possible. However, it seems that not everyone is quite as sold on the 20-year-old as the organization is, at least in a manner of speaking.

Colt Emerson just doesn't have the wow factor of other top prospects

Baseball America's editor in chief JJ Cooper joined Foul Territory last Thursday for an interview, and basically said that Emerson does not match up to the likes of Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle and JJ Wetherholt. In Cooper's view, Emerson lacks the wow factor of Griffin's power/speed and the other two guys' hit tools.

In truth, this is actually a totally fair assessment, with Griffin in a category all of his own as the potential second coming of two-time All-MLB First Team Bobby Witt Jr., while McGonigle and Wetherholt can both become batting title contenders. It's not that Cooper doesn't rate Emerson highly, it's just that he puts him in the next tier down.

Despite the politest of disses you will ever hear about a prospect, Cooper does go on to praise Emerson for being a very well-rounded player who can potentially become a star himself. Baseball America's scouting report on the 2023 22nd overall draft pick praise his hit tool above all else, but also compliments his plus defensive value and developing power, ranking him as the No. 7 prospect in all of baseball.

Mariners would gladly take 2023 J.P. Crawford on a consistent basis

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has already said Emerson will mostly play at third base when he gets called up this season, but long-term he's going to be a cornerstone of the franchise at shortstop. And the Zanesville, Ohio native's promise has him effectively being the best possible version of the man he will be replacing, J.P. Crawford, but on a more consistent basis.

We've written before about how Crawford has sometimes received unfair criticism from Mariners fans, but this doesn't take away the fact he's developed into a leader of the clubhouse during his time in Seattle. He's also had some impressive achievements including winning a Gold Glove in 2020 and producing a 5.2 bWAR in 2023, the best ever by any M's shortstop not named Alex Rodriguez.

Certainly, if Emerson becomes a 5-WAR shortstop with a high OBP, 20-homer power and good defense on a yearly basis, we're sure the Mariners will gladly take that. So yes, perhaps he won't be quite on the same level as Griffin, McGonigle or Wetherholt, but he still has every chance of being a stud for the next decade in Seattle, even if it's as a very specific kind of superstar.