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The Seattle Mariners have known since they acquired Brendan Donovan in February that they would be able to stack five All-Stars at the top of their lineup. And after what he did in spring training, their best hope for a sixth might be Cole Young.
So, go figure that he's gotten a promotion of sorts in the first lineup of the year.
It’s getting VERY real! #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/SbJQ5h4r2T
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 26, 2026
That's Young in the No. 8 spot ahead of Leo Rivas, who's at shortstop in place of the injured J.P. Crawford. It's not exactly a high-profile position for the 22-year-old but, hey, it beats the No. 9 spot that RosterResource had projected him for.
Mariners' Opening Day lineup has stars up top and high hopes at the bottom
Young began this year with more pressure on him than he probably expected. It was only shortly before spring training that we found out that the Mariners had balked at including him in a trade for Ketel Marte when the Arizona Diamondbacks were shopping him.
That signaled an awful lot of faith in a guy who never fully launched as a rookie in 2025. Young did have a few solid weeks, but overall he hit just .211 with a .607 OPS in 77 games. Add in the bad defense, and the whole "second baseman of the future" thing seemed to be on thin ice.
Here we are now, though, and Young is hot off a spring in which he showed up in great shape and ended up with a 1.016 OPS and six home runs. And those homers? They included some absolute tanks.
That's 5️⃣ Cactus League dingers for Cole Young! pic.twitter.com/oVltMr70EG
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) March 21, 2026
In addition to Young, the Mariners are hoping that Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone can also provide strong support for the All-Star quintet of Donovan, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena.
Raley was an injured dud for pretty much all of 2025, but he previously posted a 127 OPS+ and 41 homers across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Canzone was one of Seattle's best hitters after he resurfaced from Tacoma last June, ultimately posting a 142 OPS+.
If this lineup clicks, it'll be all the more reason to believe in the Mariners as a World Series favorite. Either way, the journey gets underway at 7:10 p.m. PT against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday.