Mariners fans should cautiously buy Cole Young as AL's top second baseman

The 2026 Mariners were going to have a problem if Cole Young was still on the same learning curve as last year. Fortunately, he has instead looked like the player they hoped he would be, to a point where he can even claim to be the best second baseman in the American League.

That is, inasmuch as one can after just one month of baseball. And also, the 22-year-old Young is only an elite second baseman according to one of the preferred WAR measurements:

• Baseball Reference: 1.6 WAR, 1st among AL second basemen
• FanGraphs: 0.7 WAR, T-3rd among AL second basemen

The difference between those two ranks isn't great, but a difference of one whole WAR is a big difference this early on. But it's at least easy to explain. Baseball Reference's WAR uses Defensive Runs Saved as its go-to for defensive quality, and Young is crushing it for DRS. He ranks first among all defenders at +10 in the early goings.

Add that onto a solidly above average 111 OPS+, and you get a complete picture of a player who is getting it done on both sides of the ball. Must there be more to it than that?

Cole Young still has his question marks, but not nearly as many as he had as a rookie

Well, look, there isn't a parade that can't be rained on. And for the sake of keeping everyone grounded, it's worth hitting the parade Young is throwing with a light sprinkle.

His DRS alone is so impressive as to be… suspicious. Only three second basemen achieved a +10 DRS all season in 2025, so we may have another Julio Rodríguez situation on our hands. He was racking up Defensive Runs Saved at a historic rate early last year, but it didn't actually lead to a historic season in the end.

The numbers under Young's offensive output, meanwhile, are a mixed bag. His walk and strikeout rates have regressed relative to his rookie season in 2025, and he's only hitting the ball at an average of 87.9 mph. That's below the MLB norm of 88.6 mph.

Yet even if this alludes to a vibe of Young flying too close to the sun, there's a line between questioning a player and needlessly putting him down. And this is the part where we see it and back away from it.

Though Young will be hard-pressed to maintain his DRS pace, what's in that column aligns with the eye test. This is a guy who is very obviously more comfortable and competent in the field, particularly on plays to his right. Even if he isn't Nico Hoerner just yet, he's clearly climbing the ranks among MLB's top defensive second basemen.

As for his offense, Young's modest exit velocity obscures how his actual hard-hit rate is up 7.4 percentage points over last season. Even though he's only slugging .394, it also obscures his efficiency as a budding slugger. His rate of pulled balls in the air is almost on par with Luke Raley and Cal Raleigh. It's good company in a very useful stat, as no batted ball is as valuable as a pulled fly ball.

There are other things to like, such as how Young's average against fastballs has gone from a dismal .187 last year to .317 this year. But when it comes down to it, his likely overachieving on defense is being paired with likely underachieving on offense. At this stage of the season, you take that tradeoff.

If this has felt like an exercise in us talking ourselves into a guy who only posted 0.5 rWAR in 77 games last year, well, that's exactly what it has been. Whatever the case, it's nice to get to the other side of it and feel at least cautiously optimistic that the 2026 version of Young is the real deal.

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