Mariners see a lot of promise in 3B prospect Williamson

SEATTLE – Just two years ago the major leagues seemed like a distant dream for Seattle Mariners third base prospect Ben Williamson.

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Willamson was coming off a standout college career with the William & Mary baseball team. He earned three straight All-Coastal Athletic Association first-team selections and was named the league’s player of the year as a senior. But the Tribe had put just 10 players into the major leagues, with the last of those coming 15 years ago in 2010.

“Not a lot of guys come out of there,” Williamson said.

The Mariners made Williamson a second-round pick in July of 2023, and less than two full years later the 24 year old is set to be just the 11th William & Mary alum to play in the major leagues.

Williamson’s contract was selected from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday, and the right-handed-hitting third baseman was on the field before Sunday’s game against Texas Rangers taking groundballs as he prepared to sit in a dugout as a major league player for the first time.

Ben Williamson taking some of his first grounders a T-Mobile Park. pic.twitter.com/Tzqv7HQnb0

— Zac Hereth (@ZacHereth) April 13, 2025

Williamson, Seattle’s 13th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, said he found out he was heading to the majors on Saturday from Rainiers manager John Russell, who tried to play it off like Williamson would just be getting the day off with Tacoma on Sunday.

“He was like, you’re not even gonna be a pinch-hitter late in the game,” Williamson said. “And he was like, that’s because you’re going to be in Seattle. My whole body kind of just lost feeling in the arms and legs, and got kind of emotional, called my parents, had a good talk with them, called my sister, my girlfriend, my best friend – it was a really good day.”

Williamson said his family couldn’t make it up to Seattle in time for Sunday’s game, but they will be in Cincinnati on Tuesday when the M’s start a nine-game road trip at the Reds.

‘A kid we see a lot of promise in’

The third baseman wasn’t in the starting lineup against Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, but his defensive prowess and the fact he’s a right-handed bat were factors that led to his promotion, manager Dan Wilson said.

“I think as we look forward to going on the road and whatnot, I think we’re in a position right now infield-wise where we want as much versatility as possible,” Wilson said, “and Ben brings that and brings a a right-handed bat as well. So it gives us great opportunities offensively, great opportunities defensively and we’re looking forward to that.”

Defense is the biggest tool Williamson brings to the big league club. He’s considered as a potential Gold Glove-caliber defender with a 65 fielding grade on the 20-80 scale by MLB Pipeline. The big question will be how his bat translates to the MLB level.

Williamson generated some buzz during spring training in Peoria when he delivered a solid showing at the plate to go along with his standout glove. In 16 at-bats, collected six hits (.375 batting average), a triple and four RBIs.

He ended up starting the season with Tacoma where he hit .281 with a .650 OPS three doubles, eight RBIs, two walks and nine strikeouts in 14 games. Williamson said the biggest thing he was working on in Triple-A was his approach at the plate, particularly with two strikes.

“Last year, I feel with two strikes I’d get super amped up and I chased balls in the dirt,” he said. “And this year, I was just trying to focus on being on time to hit the fastball and just seeing it as soon as possible. That’s just allowed my natural reactions to just react to it if it goes over the plate.”

That’s an approach Wilson liked to see and would like to continue to see more of from his rookie third baseman.

“Ben obviously at the plate has a really nice approach, takes that right-center approach, that center field approach that we talk about a lot,” Wilson said. “And then defensively (he) did a really nice job at third base. This is a kid that we see a lot of promise in, and it’s great to get him up here, get him comfortable and give him a chance to get out there.”

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