The Seattle Mariners have most of their MLB roster already figured out.

But they do have one exciting position battle between former first-round picks.

Cole Young and Colt Emerson are expected to compete for the second base job. Emerson is the higher-ranking prospect, but Young is the one already with big league experience.

Either way, the Mariners have a solid talent in that spot. It seems likely that in the long run, they’d like to give Emerson a chance to reach his ceiling.

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It’s a good problem to have, though, choosing between a pair of former first-round picks to fill in a spot in a lineup that otherwise is in very good shape.

“Emerson — the ninth-ranked prospect in baseball — will compete for the Mariners’ second-base job alongside Cole Young, a first-round pick in the 2022 Draft, in what figures to be one of the spring’s best position battles,” wrote MLB.com’s Jared Greenspan in a new article on Saturday. “Young may have the leg up, but Seattle is extremely high on the 20-year-old Emerson, a pure hitter who tore through three levels of the Minors in 2025. The Mariners have legitimate World Series aspirations, and they won’t hesitate to assemble the roster that gives them the best chance to win. Emerson can prove that he’s a part of that puzzle with a strong spring. He’ll receive plenty of plate appearances in Cactus League play.”

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Emerson is the kind of guy who can make all the difference for a team in Seattle’s spot.

The Mariners were just a handful of outs from going to the World Series in 2025 before Toronto stunned them late in the ALCS. Seattle has still never even played in the Fall Classic.

Seattle is running it back with much of the same roster, but Emerson can be a lot like an exciting new addition. If he approaches his ceiling sooner rather than later, he can raise the upside of the entire Mariners’ season.

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