Elite Seattle Mariners Prospect Discusses His Approach at Plate, Adjustments and Life in Pro Ball

With nine players in the MLB Pipeline Top 100, the Seattle Mariners have one of the deepest farm systems in baseball.

At the top of that farm system? Infielder Colt Emerson, who the M's took in the first round of the 2023 draft from the Ohio high school ranks.

The No. 16 prospect in the sport, Emerson is hitting .268 this season for the High-A Everett AquaSox. He's got seven homers, 35 RBIs and a .371 on-base percentage. He's known as an excellent contact hitter, and is projected to make his major league debut in 2026.

Emerson sat down with the Refuse to Lose podcast on Monday's episode and discussed several things, including his approach at the plate, adjustments to his swing, and the biggest adjustment to life in professional baseball.

I'd ​say, ​probably ​the ​just ​amount ​of ​games, ​just ​amount ​of ​games ​you ​play. ​I ​mean, ​in ​high ​school, ​we had a 27 ​game ​season ​in ​high ​school, ​and ​then ​you ​go ​play ​summer ​ball, ​which ​is ​probably ​another ​30 games. ​So, ​the ​most ​games I played ​over a ​summer ​is ​50. ​And ​then ​now ​we're ​playing ​132, so ​that ​was ​a ​big ​adjustment. ​And ​just ​trying ​to ​figure ​out ​how ​to ​stay ​healthy ​through ​it ​all ​and ​just ​navigate ​how ​your ​body ​feels, and ​what ​to ​do ​when ​stuff ​isn't ​going ​good. ​It's ​just been ​something ​to ​learn ​throughout this ​whole ​thing. ​But ​I'd ​say ​just ​the ​amount ​of ​games ​being ​played ​is ​probably ​the biggest adjustment.

You can listen to the full interview with Emerson in our podcast player below:

The Mariners are 43-40 and will open up a series with the Kansas City Royals on Monday night at 6:40 p.m. PT.