2024 Seattle Mariners Farm System Overview: Tier 1

The big three

It’s the last stop on our journey through the Seattle Mariners prospect rankings and what better time to do it with the minor league season upon us. With such a bright young core of position players in the system, the minors promise to be a fun-filled experience each and every night. Let’s begin this final installment with perhaps the quickest riser in all of baseball, Mr. Colt Emerson.

3. Colt Emerson, SS

Age: 18 / B/T: L/R / Drafted: 2023 / Final level in 2023: A / MLB ETA: 2027

If scouting baseball players was an exact science, Colt Emerson would not have been a Seattle Mariner. Entering the draft, Emerson was considered to be a “safer” player on the prep circuit. A younger kid with solid athleticism and good bat to ball skills, but really nothing to knock your socks off. Playing in Ohio, a cold weather state not known for its baseball talent, certainly didn’t help his draft stock either. Thus, Emerson was selected #22 overall of the 2023 draft and no one batted an eye. Unbeknownst to many, Emerson was about to give the world a taste of just how good he can be.

Showing up for his first game in the complex league, Emerson showed off tools that many evaluators underestimated, destroying baseballs all over the field without an ounce of the hit tool sacrificed. He played good defense. He stole bases. He showed up in the clutch. In his brief cup of coffee as a pro, he ascended up the ranks and now firmly finds himself as a consensus top-3 prospect in the entire system, quickly jockeying for the number one spot.

Emerson possesses a plus hit tool and excellent plate discipline with a mature approach. In his limited stint playing after the draft, he avoided strikeouts and walked at a well above average rate. Perhaps most exciting of all, he is already posting above average exit velocities for the major league level as a freshly turned 18 year old. From an offensive standpoint, there really isn’t a way to knock Emerson’s professional debut.

In the field, Emerson is a sound defender. I’m not sure I’d go as far to call him a future stalwart at shortstop, but he should stick there for now. Many people expect Emerson to move off the position in the future and Emerson primarily played at third for Team USA’s U-18 team, but his foot speed nor arm are of major concern. Emerson, if moved to the hot corner, should have a plus glove and his hitting profile should carry over if he’s moved to a corner.

Colt Emerson has exactly 114 professional plate appearances and is 18 years old. It is incredibly early to place any sort of big league expectation on him and we need to see his abilities take place over an entire minor league season. This being said, Emerson’s debut gave us a glimpse of just how special he could be. Should he carry his success from 2023 into 2024, he could be a quick mover through the system and beat his ETA by a substantial margin. His obvious pure talent coupled with his rock solid demeanor and exceptional leadership skills will give him every chance in the world to stave off the toils of a long season and continue his excellent performance for the foreseeable future.

2. Harry Ford, C

Age: 21 / B/T: R/R / Drafted: 2021 / Final level in 2023: A+ / MLB ETA: 2025

Heir apparent to the throne of UK baseball, Prince Harry has long been considered a top prospect in all of MLB and continues to impress with his dynamic athleticism. Drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft out of North Cobb high school, the M’s took a big risk on betting on the always risky high school catcher. This bet, however, appears to be paying huge dividends for them as Ford has flourished in the Seattle system and established himself as one of the top catching prospects in all of MLB.

Ford has a fascinating profile at the plate. An extremely patient hitter, Ford is passive at the plate and swings at very few pitches that come his way. This leads to incredibly low chase rates and a ton of walks (.410 OBP last season). The final frontier at the plate will be tapping into his raw power more effectively in game. This could be aided by getting a bit more aggressive with his swing decisions, trying to punish pitches in the strike zone at a higher clip. His power production is solid (.430 SLG) and his exit velocities are good as well, but it’s more gap-to-gap power than over-the-fence power. A tick up in game power would transform him from great prospect to elite.

As an athlete, Ford is up there with the best in the system. He’s incredibly strong, has a good arm, though his operations behind the plate are still a bit raw and doesn’t directly lead to as good of a caught stealing rate as it should. Ford is a plus runner and will be a base stealing threat, a rare luxury at the catcher position. There has been talk of moving him off of the position for various reasons (accelerate development, raw defensively, presence of Big Dumper, etc.) but Ford as a catcher is significantly more valuable than Ford anywhere else on the field. Ford has the leadership and game calling chops to stick at the position and should be given the time to mature into an all around backstop. It may take a little extra time, but there really isn’t any rush.

Ford played the entirety of last season at A+ Everett last year and should begin 2024 in Arkansas. Dickey-Stephens Park, notorious for suppressing right handed slugging, will make it exceptionally difficult to determine how his power is coming along, but perhaps the biggest key to remember with Ford is that he is just 21 years old and will be all season. For a catcher coming out of high school, to reach AA at 21 years of age is a pretty remarkable feat that only the best are capable of doing. If he continues to produce at the next level, expect for Ford to factor into the 2025 plans in a big way.

1. Cole Young, SS

Age: 20 / B/T: L/R / Drafted: 2022 / Final level in 2023: A+ / MLB ETA: 2025

Hailing from North Allegheny in Pennsylvania, Young narrowly edged out both Harry Ford and Colt Emerson for the number one spot in the system. All three could justifiably be awarded the top spot in the system, however our evaluators tended to favor Young’s undeniable hit tool and up the middle defensive versatility alongside his relative proximity to the big leagues and track record. He may not be the best at any one thing in the Mariner system, but it’s hard to find a piece of his game that isn’t firmly average or better. He’s an all around player that always finds a way to contribute to the team’s overall success.

Young had an exceptional first professional season that saw him slash .277/.399/.449 between Modesto and Everett. Young finished the season with an impressive 90/88 K/BB ratio, both marks well above average on a rate basis. The power improved throughout the year, but Young’s power surge at A+ Everett was likely inflated due to the hitter’s paradise that is Funko Field. With a line drive oriented swing, Young doesn’t project to hit a ton of homers in the majors and is usually gap-to-gap, however average power output certainly isn’t out of the question. With high contact rates and excellent chase rates, Young has a great approach at the plate that really grinds pitchers down until he gets a pitch to hit. It’s not necessarily the flashiest, but it’s steady, reproducible, and effective.

Defensively, Young plays an average shortstop with good range, though in an ideal world you’d like his arm to be a bit stronger. With the general consensus viewing Young as a future second baseman, Young should provide stellar defense while still being able to play shortstop at an average level. He’s got solid speed, but he’s not as twitchy of a starter as other runners in the system and could cause his stolen base numbers to fall off quicker as he ages. Despite this, a 22/32 stolen base season, while inefficient, is not terrible by any means and likely puts Young as a tick above average as a runner.

Cole Young has been flying through the minor leagues with relative ease, rarely struggling for extended periods of time at any stop. With the possibility of a quick promotion or even starting the 2024 season at AA Arkansas, his talents would certainly be tested by the considerable jump in competition and would fast track Young to the major leagues. While unlikely, if Young were to have little problem with AA, it isn’t inconceivable he could debut in the majors late in the year. He’ll be one of the first prospects of the “next wave” to hit the big leagues and projects to be a big part of the Mariners’ solution to the seemingly endless black hole at second base.

That concludes our prospect tier list! Hopefully we were able to give everyone a better idea of just how talented this system is. If you want to track these players closer, I recommend looking into getting an MiLB TV account (t’s included in MLB TV accounts). However, if that’s not in the cards, we’re happy to keep you in the loop with all the updates you need. GOMS!