Colt Emerson has a bright future, and he is approaching it with a stay-true-to-yourself mindset. Exactly how much his identity will evolve is the question. Seventeen months removed from being selected 22nd overall in the 2023 draft by the Seattle Mariners out of New Concord, Ohio’s John Glenn High School, the left-handed-hitting shortstop is just 19 years old, with all of 94 professional games under his belt. He has plenty of room to grow, with his below-average raw power being part of that equation.
Emerson recognizes that what he is today isn’t necessarily what he’ll be in the future. At the same time, he doesn’t anticipate changing too much.
“I think I have a good feel for the type of player I am,” the 6-foot-1, 195-pound infielder told me during the Arizona Fall League season, where he slashed a lusty .370/.436/.547. “But I’m also not physically mature yet. I have more strength to put on, and as I keep growing into it, hitting the same way is going to be crucial for me. Getting stronger and being able to put balls over the fence more easily doesn’t mean that I need to try to hit more home runs. They’re going to come, just doing what I do.”
What Emerson currently does is hit line drives with a swing that our lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen has described as “aesthetically pleasing.” Generated by “lightning quick hands,“ it produced a .263/.393/.376 with for home runs and a 119 wRC+ over 332 plate appearances between Low-A Modesto and High-A Everett. One of the youngest players at each level, he missed time in April with an oblique issue, and in mid-season he was out for a month-plus due to a fractured foot.
Asked if hitting is fun, Emerson answered in the affirmative — “I love being up there competing against the pitcher” — although he did add a caveat.
“Hitting is hard,” he admitted. “Hitting is very hard. You just have to trust your process. You do what works for you, and if it’s not there that day, it’s just not there that day, You just flip the page to the next game. A great thing about baseball is that when you have a bad day, you get to come back and have five at-bats the next day.”
To this point in his young career, Emerson hasn’t faced much adversity outside of the two injuries. His numbers, including contact and walk rates, have been solid, especially for a player competing against mostly-older competition. Part of the reason is the aforementioned mindset he brings with him to the batter’s box.
“For a young kid reading this, my message would be to not try to be anything you’re not,” said Emerson, who will be ranked at or near the top when our 2025 Mariners Top Prospects list comes out. “If you’re a contact guy, don’t try to hit home runs. Be yourself, knowing that the best you can do is the best you can do.”
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Ty Cobb went 30 for 52 against Rollie Naylor.
Joe DiMaggio went 27 for 43 against Elon Hogsett.
George Brett went 25 for 41 against Ed Figueroa.
Al Kaline went 23 for 42 against Chuck Stobbs.
Ted Williams went 21 for 42 against Art Ditmar.
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Guardians starters threw 805 innings this past season, the seventh lowest total in MLB, as well as one of the lowest in franchise history. Injuries were a big part of the reason why. When Cleveland won the AL Central two years ago, Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie combined for 391-and-a-third of the club’s 907 starter innings. This year, they combined for just 87-and-two-thirds innings, only a dozen of them by Bieber, who had Tommy John surgery in mid-April.
The low-budget Guardians were still able to win 92 games and go on to play October baseball — an elite bullpen deserves much of the credit — but can they reasonably expect to return to the postseason without more production from the starting staff? I asked that question of Chris Antonetti at last month’s GM Meetings
“I have no idea, but I’m not looking to test it,” Cleveland’s President of Baseball Operations replied. “That’s not the goal. Our goal last year wasn’t to have [a low number of] starter innings, it’s just the way our season evolved. We had to adapt to figure out how to win in light of what was happening around us.”
Getting Bieber back will help — the righty became a free agent but has reportedly agreed to return on a one-year deal — although he likely won’t be game-ready until early summer. Meanwhile, McKenzie’s recent track record makes him anything but a sure bet, and postseason stalwart Matthew Boyd is now a Chicago Cub, having departed via free agency. Finding a way to meaningfully increase starter innings will be a challenge for Antonetti’s club, something he readily acknowledges.
“In an ideal world, we will [get more],” the executive told me. “Now, whether or not that’s possible, and if it would lead us to being the best team… that’s what we’ll have to figure out.”
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Mike Rizzo cited health when I asked him about his organization’s pitching development priorities.
“I think our number one criteria is the safety and longevity of the pitcher,” said the Washington Nationals GM. “We do everything in our power to do what’s right for their arm health and longevity. That means tweaking deliveries, using our technology — frame-by-frame photography, and all the technology tricks that help keep those pitchers on the field — because that’s what it’s all about.
“We tweak pitchers; we don’t overhaul pitchers,” added Rizzo. “When we see something that we think is dangerous, it’s our job to do what’s right for the pitcher and keep him as healthy as possible. Everyone wants to throw hard, and everyone wants to miss bats. If we chase that, we have to chase it in the healthiest manner possible. We’re always drafting and developing stuff, …
