Keith Law of The Athletic puts 3 Mariners prospects in his top 100 ranking for 2024
#37 - Colt Emerson, 2B/SS, 10th ranked SS
We start off with Emerson. The common consensus here is that the Mariners ended up with a steal when they selected Emerson.
"There’s always at least one guy from every draft who goes out for a month or so after signing and makes people ask why he wasn’t drafted higher... and Emerson certainly did that last summer"
- Keith Law, The Athletic
The swing and hit tool stand out, and they are rocketing Emerson up the prospect rankings. Although he might not end up at SS, he can definitely play second base, and the bat could get him there sooner than we previously expected.
His hit tool is definitely the one that defines him, and as Law points out, it's what caught everyone's attention during his short stints last season after being drafted. He went 15-28 in the Arizona Complex League (ACL), and was quickly moved to Modesto (A ball) where he would hit .302/.436/.444 with 4 steals and 6 doubles in just 16 games. There is a bit of power hidden inside of there too, Law thinks.
"Before the draft, I said he had the upside of a “high-average, 15 to 20-homer sort of hitter at second base... pro scouts and analysts seem to agree with that after his pro debut, but with more confidence than I had pre-draft that he’ll get there. "
- Keith Law, The Athletic