Minor League Baseball

Top Seattle Mariners Prospect Colt Emerson Named Top 5 Shortstop By Baseball America

The best infielder in the Seattle Mariners farm system received high praise by the publication in its latest top 100 rankings.
Teren Kowatsch|
Modesto Nuts shortstop Colt Emerson (left) avoids a tag during a game against the Stockton Ports on April 5, 2024, at Stockton Ballpark.
Modesto Nuts shortstop Colt Emerson (left) avoids a tag during a game against the Stockton Ports on April 5, 2024, at Stockton Ballpark. | CLIFFORD OTO/THE STOCKTON RECORD / USA TODAY NETWORK

In this story:

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners farm system is regarded as one of the best in Major League Baseball.

The Mariners have seven prospects ranked in the top 100 lists of both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, and their farm system was ranked No. 1 in baseball by The Athletic's Keith Law.

The amount of top 100 players and their placement on respective lists varies based on the publication. But one consensus is that Seattle's best minor leaguer is shortstop and 2023 first-round draft pick Colt Emerson. And Baseball America had high praise for the 2024 Arizona Fall League "Fall-Star."

The latest top 100 list put out by the website has Emerson ranked as the No. 16 prospect in baseball. Baseball America has Emerson as the fourth-best player at his position in the minor leagues.

The Tampa Bay Rays' Carson Williams, the Arizona Diamondbacks' Jordan Lawlar and the Boston Red Sox's Marcelo Mayer are the three shortstops who rank above Emerson.

Baseball America had the following assessment on Emerson in the rankings:

Emerson burst onto the scene in 2023 after the Mariners selected him in the first round. He dealt with injuries in 2024 but showed plenty of flashes of his potential in a year split between the Class A levels. He’s one of the purest hitters in Seattle’s system. If he can add more power, he’ll move into the game’s upper echelon.

Emerson played only 70 games in 2024 due to a broken bone in a foot. He started the year with the Low-A Modest Nuts and ended with the High-A Everett AquaSox. He batted .263 with four home runs and 37 RBIs to go with 15 steals.

Follow Minor League Baseball On SI on social media

You can also follow Teren Kowatsch on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.

Published | Modified
Teren Kowatsch
TEREN KOWATSCH

Teren Kowatsch is a staff writer for ''Minor League Baseball on SI'' and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He has been a writer for “On SI’’ for two years and is a graduate of the University of Idaho. You can follow him on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch

Home/NEWS