Cole Young shows why he’s Seattle Mariners’ top prospect

The Seattle Mariners picked up their first win of Cactus League play on Wednesday, and their top prospect played a big role in it.

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Shortstop Cole Young, the Mariners’ top pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, drove a double to the warning track in center field to plate the only two runs in the game, a 2-0 Seattle win over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday afternoon (click here for the box score).

There are a few reasons the two-run double was impressive.

For one, the 20-year-old Young was receiving plate appearances in a big league spring training game for the just second time ever.

Then there’s the fact that the lefty-hitting Young ripped the deep fly off a lefty pitcher.

And finally, the pitcher he was facing was Tyler Gilbert, who has appeared in 28 MLB games over the past three seasons.

Watch Young’s big hit, accompanied by the Seattle Sports radio call from longtime voice of the Mariners Rick Rizzs, right here:

Cole cuts. #TridentsUp 🔱 pic.twitter.com/zNor5UqycH

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) February 26, 2024

While the top Seattle prospect had the big highlight, it’s worth noting that the Mariners’ pitching was the star of the show on Monday. Luis Castillo threw the first two innings of a combined one-hit shutout that also featured contributions by Austin Voth, Heath Hembree, Ty Buttrey, Joey Krehbiel and Reid VanScoter.

Seattle Mariners prospect watch

Young, who also had an RBI sacrifice fly on Saturday, currently ranks as the Mariners’ top prospect and the No. 37 prospect in baseball overall by MLB Pipeline, and he clearly has the manager’s attention already.

“I think this guy could be a quick mover through our system,” Servais said last week, per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times. “He’s just fundamentally very sound. Love his swing.”

While we’re on the topic, here’s one more Seattle Mariners prospect highlight from the early days of spring training. Harry Ford, who is just one spot below Young as the No. 38 prospect per MLB Pipeline, showed off his arm behind the plate on Sunday to throw out a runner from his knees in a loss to Cleveland. Ford, 21, was Seattle’s first-round pick in 2021.

Laser from @harry_ford 🎯 pic.twitter.com/Ul9I8RqWzX

— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) February 25, 2024

The Mariners continue Cactus League play at 12:05 p.m. Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants. The radio broadcast of the game will air live on the Seattle Sports app, and it will be played on tape delay at 6:55 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM after the weekly Cactus League Report, which begins at 6 p.m.

For details on Mariners spring training radio broadcasts, click here.

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