Mariners infield prospects turning heads in 2025 spring training

Of the many reasons for Seattle Mariners fans to have high hopes for 2025, the infield is not quite at the top of the list.

The only sure thing on the infield is shortstop J.P. Crawford, and even he is in need of a rebound season. Meanwhile, there's a competition at second base and varying degrees of uncertainty at first base and third base.

It's a welcome reprieve, then, that Mariners fans are getting good news this spring that concerns the future of the infield.

In camp with the big club are infield prospects Colt Emerson and Cole Young, who are ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 20 and No. 49 talents in the league, respectively. Though they only have three hits to show for 20 combined at-bats in Cactus League play, don't let that fool you into thinking neither is making a strong impression.

Emerson and Young are impressing the right person

Though Emerson is coming off an injury-marred 2024 season — he played in just 70 minor league games because of an oblique injury and a fractured foot — he is still well regarded in large part because he boasts "the best hit tool in the Mariners system."

Those are MLB Pipeline's words, and it's high praise for a guy who's still only 19 years old. Supporting arguments for that sentiment include a .370 average in the Arizona Fall League last year and, more recently, a grueling 14-pitch at-bat on Sunday that paid off in a hit-by-pitch.

“Outstanding,” was manager Dan Wilson's one-word review of Emerson's battle with Colorado Rockies hurler Germán Márquez, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

Young, meanwhile, is seen as being a plus hitter in his own right. That shows in his .387 OBP for three minor league seasons, though the 5-for-10, 180-pound Young isn't supposed to have the power upside of the 6-foot, 195-pound Emerson.

Young, 21, has nonetheless been a doubles machine in the minors, racking up 59 of them in 250 games over the last two seasons. The double that he hit on Friday was therefore on brand, though he added style points by smoking it at 101.5 mph off the bat.

This, too, impressed Wilson, who told Divish: “That’s really a nice at-bat, getting a chance to even the count and then getting a pitch he could handle. You’re going to get tired of me saying it, but middle of the field, driving that ball over the center fielder’s head to pick up the RBI, that’s the difference in the ballgame.”

How soon until Emerson and Young are in the majors?

If Mariners fans are hoping to see Emerson break camp with the team, it would be wise not to let such hopes become actual expectations.

Though Jorge Polanco is a fingers-crossed solution at third base, Emerson is not a serious threat to his playing time. With only 94 minor league games under his belt, the youngster is more of an option for 2026.

Young, on the other hand, was always meant to be part of the Mariners' second base battle. And while he is up against stiff competition in Gold Glover Dylan Moore and fellow prospect Josh Bliss, who's batting .308 this spring, Young's prospect profile casts him as the best upside play of the lot.

The goal for Young is to make the Mariners' choice for them. The better the show he puts on this spring, the better his chance of swapping out the question mark looming over second base with an exclamation mark that will get fans even more pumped for the 2025 season.