The league messed up and let Mariners' Cole Young get hot

The league let Cole Young get comfortable, and now the Mariners’ rookie is making them pay.
Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers v Seattle Mariners | Steph Chambers/GettyImages

It’s time to sound the alarms, because the rest of the league may have just been put on notice. Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young is figuring it out, and it couldn't come at a more opportune time.

A few weeks ago, there was some chatter about the Mariners’ rookie second baseman. Despite a 1-for-19 start, you could see the foundation being laid. The swings were there. The approach was there. The ball was coming off his bat with intent. The results weren’t pretty yet, but the process was screaming high potential.

Cole Young’s rise gives Mariners another bat to fear

Fast forward to now, and Young is ready for take off.  Over his last 16 games, he is slashing .277/.404/.532 with three home runs, eight RBI, an elite 17.5 percent walk rate and a 10.5 percent strikeout rate. This is not just a rookie finding his footing, but a potential star establishing territory.

If you needed a signature moment, he gave it to you Thursday night in front of a packed T-Mobile Park. The return of Eugenio Suárez? Incredible story. But it was Young who stole the show, absolutely demolishing a 456-foot moonshot into the second deck and right into the Hit It Here Café. It was a message with the bat flip as a postmark: Welcome to the show.

Young is just getting started, folks. The Mariners’ trade deadline splashes mean he won’t be asked to carry the offense. With veterans anchoring the middle of the lineup, Young will benefit from real protection. Hitting near the bottom of the order alongside J.P. Crawford, who grinds every at-bat, and a steadily improving Dominic Canzone gives Young the freedom to hunt his pitch and do damage, often against softer matchups. The pressure is off. And that’s dangerous for any opposing pitcher. 

The Mariners didn’t just draft a steady contributor when they took Cole Young in the first round in 2022, they drafted a potential franchise cornerstone. He’s just 22, playing a premium position, with advanced plate discipline, growing power, and a game that looks more polished by the day.