The Mariners’ top prospect is on fire in Arizona Fall League

Oct 14, 2024, 3:31 PM

Editor, Seattle Sports

No Seattle Mariners prospect has turned more heads this year than Colt Emerson, and even though the minor league season is over, he’s still not done.

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Over a month after Emerson took his last trip to the plate in 2024 for the Single-A Everett AquaSox, he returned to action over the last week as a member of the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, an annual prospect showcase. The left-handed-hitting shortstop quickly caught on fire once AFL play began.

In his first game in Arizona on Oct. 8, Emerson went 5-for-6 with four doubles, five RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base out of the leadoff spot for the Javelinas. How about that for a debut?

First Fall League start? First AFL four-double game in at least 20 years.

Colt Emerson may be focused on the fundamentals, but it didn’t take the @Mariners‘ top prospect long to start raking in the @MLBazFallLeague.

More: https://t.co/lkZuiHU859 pic.twitter.com/AUVlUaotXU

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 9, 2024

As you may have already guessed, the 19-year-old Emerson was just getting started.

The next day, Emerson rapped out three more hits in five at-bats, including his fifth double already, to help Peoria pick up its first win. A couple days later, Emerson went just 1 for 5, but that one hit? Yeah, another double And on Saturday, he added a 2-for-4 day to the tally.

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After all that, Emerson owned a .550 average and 1.400 OPS entering Monday, while tying for third in the league in RBIs with six. And as if there was any doubt, his six doubles lead the AFL, amounting to three times as many as any other player.

.@Colt_emerson went crazy in his first week of @MLBazFallLeague action 👀

.550 AVG, 11 H, 6 RBI, .550 OBP, .850 SLG, 1.400 OPS pic.twitter.com/RGyxo7luiW

— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) October 14, 2024

Taken with the No. 22 pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft by Seattle, Emerson was one of the biggest risers in baseball prospect rankings this year. He currently is ranked No. 12 by Baseball America and No. 27 by MLB Pipeline.

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The 6-foot, 195-pound Emerson slashed .263/.393/.376 for a .769 OPS with four home runs, 17 doubles, a triple and 15 stolen bases in 70 games over three levels during the 2024 minor league season.

Emerson is one of seven Mariners prospects on the Javelinas roster. The others are infielder Cole Young, outfielder Jared Sundstrum, and right-handed pitchers Jordan Jackson, Jimmy Joyce, Jimmy Kingsbury, Travis Kuhn and Jason Ruffcorn.

Sundstrum, the Mariners’ No. 29 prospect per MLB Pipeline, had a good start of his own to AFL play, going 4 for 14 with a home run, four runs scored and three RBIs in his first four games.

The Peoria squad also features a couple of players who hail from Washington state: Brewers pitching prospect Nick Merkel from Spokane’s Ferris High School, and Marlins prospect and former WSU pitcher Brandon White from W.F. West High School in Chehalis.

What is the Arizona Fall League?

The AFL is essentially a showcase league for baseball’s premier prospects, with each MLB team sending seven prospects to Arizona each fall. The regular season goes from October to mid-November and ends with two days of playoffs. There is also an annual Home Run Derby and “Fall Stars” game towards the end of the regular season.

Per the official Arizona Fall League website: “Approximately 50 percent of all players named to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles are AFL alums. Twelve out of 20 players in the starting lineups for that game (starting pitchers and DH included) once played in the Arizona Fall League.”

The Javelinas are made up of prospects from the Mariners, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. They play their home games at the Peoria Sports Complex, which is where the Mariners and Padres hold spring training.