Nobody expected Mariners' Cole Young to lead second basemen in this stat

Coming into 2026, we all had our ideas about where the Mariners were supposed to be strong. Defense was not near the top of that list. And yet here we are, a couple weeks into the season, talking about Cole Young as the guy carrying the cleanest defensive reputation on the infield.

Not J.P. Crawford. And, respectfully, definitely not Brendan Donovan as he continues to sharpen things up at third. Cole Young, at second base, is leading qualified big-league second basemen in Defensive Runs Saved.

As of April 14, Young sits at +4 DRS, which put him ahead of every other qualified second baseman on FanGraphs’ 2026 fielding leaderboard. Nico Hoerner and Nasim Nuñez were right there behind him. 

Cole Young is quietly becoming one of the Mariners’ most encouraging surprises

Usually when a young infielder starts getting early love from a defensive metric, we all kind of squint at it and wait for the real world to push back. That doesn’t seem to be happening here. Young has looked comfortable, under control, and a lot more advanced than you’d expect from a 22-year-old who is still supposed to be ironing things out at the major-league level. 

FanGraphs already has him showing positive fielding run value in 2026, and if you have watched him turn plays up the middle or settle things down around the bag, it is pretty clear he put serious work into his footwork over the offseason.

Young was always supposed to bring a certain level of polish, and that part has shown up even if the full offensive breakout is still taking shape. Through 18 games, he is hitting .230 with a .319 on-base percentage, two home runs, nine RBIs, and 11 runs scored, which is a perfectly respectable start for a 22-year-old still settling into everyday major-league life. The overall line is not screaming star turn just yet, but there are encouraging signs underneath it. 

What was harder to see coming this quickly was the defensive impact. This was supposed to be a cleaner, sharper defensive club than what we have actually seen through the opening stretch, so when you look around for a real bright spot, it is kind of wild that Young has become the obvious answer on the dirt. 

He hasn't just held his own at second base. He's looked like the guy bringing order to an infield that has needed some. And if he is already giving the Mariners that kind of defensive value while the bat is still finding another gear, then this starts to look like a much more complete player much sooner than expected.

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