The Seattle Mariners will head into the 2026 season trying build off what they just accomplished.

The M’s reached Game 7 of the American League Championship Series this year. It marked third deepest playoff run in franchise history. They ended a 24-year division title drought and finally dethroned the Houston Astros in the AL West. And they extended their franchise-best run to five consecutive winnings seasons.

Seattle has some important decisions to make in free agency this offseason, namely as to whether or not it will put all the resources it can into re-signing first baseman Josh Naylor. But the M’s will also have some very important decisions to make throughout the course next season when it comes to their array of touted prospects.

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The club is expected to see at least a couple of its eight farmhands ranked in Baseball America and MLB Pipeline’s top 100  reach the major leagues at some point next season. Shortstop Colt Emerson, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, is the leader of that group after ending 2025 in Triple-A. The 20-year-old Emerson may even have a chance to break spring training with the big league club.

During a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Tuesday, ESPN insider Jeff Passan addressed the possibility of Emerson reaching the majors early next year, which led him to pointing out the delicate balance the Mariners will have strike next season.

“If the Mariners for any reason were to start Colt Emerson – particularly at shortstop – if not at the beginning of the season, then toward the beginning, that tells you the amount of faith that they’ve got the kid,” Passan said. “And I could tell you with my words they adore him, they think he’s going to be a star.”

Emerson is the No. 9 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline. Baseball America ranks him 12th.

He slashed .285/.383/.458 with an .841 OPS, 50 extra-base hits, including 16 homers, and 14 stolen bases in 130 games across three levels of the minor leagues (High-A, Double-A, Triple-A) this year.

Emerson even got a chance to be around the big club during the playoff run while playing in its intrasquad games to prepare for the ALDS.

M’s prospect Colt Emerson all eyes in scrimmage

“They want to find a way at some point (next) year to integrate him into that lineup,” Passan said, “but when you’ve come within one game of winning the first pennant (in franchise history) … it’s kind of hard to run out the next year with somebody who’s absolutely an unproven commodity on the big league level and go into season thinking that this is going to be your solution. I just think it’s a risky thing to do.”

Weighing the risks associated with giving a prospect runway in the majors on a contending team will be one of the challenges for the M’s next year, Passan said.

“If you have a farm system as good as the Mariners do, your demand, your mandate is to try as best you can to win right now while integrating in guys slowly,” he said, “but no Band-Aid rips unless it’s absolutely necessary. Like, 2026 needs to be your focus right now. It needs to be the main focus.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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