Top Seattle Mariners Executive Has High Praise For M's Rookie Third Baseman
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The Seattle Mariners have had multiple players make their major league debuts this season, from Logan Evans to Rhylan Thomas to Ben Williamson. The latter has become a regular for the M's after getting called up to help fill the void left by the injured Ryan Bliss, and because of early-season nagging soreness for Jorge Polanco. He's been extremely impressive in his near month-long sample size as well.
A second-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of William & Mary, Williamson made his major league debut on April 15. The original plan for Williamson was for him to be platooned at third base against left-handed pitching, but he has worked past that initial projection.
Williamson has scored 12 runs and has hit three doubles, one home run and 10 RBIs in 18 games. He's slashed .254/.284/.338 with a .622 OPS and has been a valuable contributor for Seattle in the bottom third of the order. His defense, which was seen as his most valuable tool as a prospect, has been on full display with several highlight-reel plays.
Ben Williamson makes an unbelievable leaping grab 😮 pic.twitter.com/rarUvDSuGQ
— MLB (@MLB) May 3, 2025
The Mariners' top executive, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, praised Williamson in an episode of "The Wheelhouse With Jerry Dipoto," which released May 3:
"He has been one of the most consistent people that we have had in our organization," Dipoto said. "He's thoughtful, he puts in the work. If he's not out on the field or in the cages, he's in the weight room. He's an awesome teammate. We saw it in spring training. He had a really good spring. And he just absorbed as much as he could. Every minute that he could, he was always hovering around the veteran hitters, trying to pull whatever he could from them. And more often, with guys who are in their first big league camp or they're coming in, they'll pull up with the other guys who are in their circumstance. And Ben didn't do that in the spring. He spent a lot of time around J.P. (Crawford), he spent a lot of time around the veteran hitters, the Cal (Raleigh's). And it gave him a level of comfort when he got his call-up. He's a dynamic defender. He's about as good a third base defender as you can draw up."
If Williamson continues at his current trajectory, he'll likely remain a permanent fixture for the team at third base for years to come. Seattle had Kyle Seager in that spot from 2011-2021, and then had Eugenio Suarez from 2022-2023 before using Josh Rojas there in 2024.
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