Mariners may have no choice but to give Colt Emerson his MLB debut soon originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Seattle Mariners probably have a whole Colt Emerson plan figured out for how to incorporate the top-10 MLB prospect into major league action for the first time.
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An injury could change that whole timeline.
The Mariners aren’t sure about J.P. Crawford’s status for Opening Day, which is March 26. Crawford has missed five consecutive Spring Training games.
The problem? An injury to Crawford’s right shoulder, which is quite important for a shortstop.
Emerson has played 16 Cactus League games for Seattle this spring and has an .854 OPS that includes a double, a triple, two home runs and eight RBI.
“Until we hear what exactly the situation is with J.P., it’s hard to kind of weigh those options,” manager Dan Wilson told reporters, via MLB.com. “So, we’ll wait and see once we hear, and then we’ll begin to decipher where we’ll need to go.”
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Emerson is still just 20 years old, but pretty much every prospect ranking includes him as one of the 10 best youngsters in the entire sport.
Last season, he had an .842 OPS as he climbed from High-A Everett to Double-A Arkansas to Triple-A Tacoma.
“I think there’s some confidence there, too, where he’s able to get the head [of the bat] out a little bit more right now,” Wilson said of Emerson this spring. “He’s just getting more familiar, getting more comfortable and I think his timing is just better.”
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Maybe Crawford will be ready in time, and maybe that sends Emerson to Tacoma for the time being. Regardless, it won’t be long until Emerson is in the bigs, probably for good.
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