Mariners rookie Ben Williamson gets first career hit

It didn’t take long for Ben Williamson to pick up his first major league hit.

Just five pitches, to be exact.

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In the first plate appearance of his MLB career on Tuesday, Williamson lined a 1-2 changeup from Cincinnati Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo into left field for a two-out single. The milestone hit came off his bat at 105.8 mph.

J.P. Crawford and Dylan Moore then followed with back-to-back singles to bring home Williamson for his first career run.

Williamson, a 2023 second-round draft pick, was batting eighth and starting at third base in his MLB debut on Tuesday. The 24-year-old third baseman was called up from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday to help alleviate the Mariners’ short-handed infield, which has seen its depth stretched thin by injury issues.

Williamson, a top-15 prospect in Seattle’s farm system according to both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, played just 150 games in the minors before making his big league debut. He’s the first non-pitching prospect to reach the majors in 150 games or fewer for Seattle since catcher Mike Zunino in 2013.

Williamson is best known for his elite defense, which he showcased with multiple highlight-reel plays during his short stint in Tacoma. He doesn’t have much power, with just four home runs in 150 career minor league games. But he hit .281 with a .755 OPS in the minors, including .283 last season at High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas. In 14 games with Tacoma this year, he hit .281 in 57 at-bats.

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