The questions about when top prospect Colt Emerson will make his major league debut with the Seattle Mariners certainly won’t be fading after his first Triple-A game of the season.

How Logan Gilbert surprised during Mariners’ season opener

After an impressive short stint with Tacoma last September, Emerson is back with the Rainiers to start the 2026 season. In his second at-bat of the season on Friday, he picked up right where he left off last year.

The left-handed-hitting Emerson connected on a curveball just below the zone from Reno Aces left-hander Kohl Drake, sending a 408-foot, two-run blast the opposite way over the wall in left-center field for his first homer of the new season. Emerson’s homer came off the bat at 101.6 mph.

Emerson, 20, became the first Rainier in at least 20 years to hit an opening day home run before turning 21 years old, according Rainiers broadcaster Andy Helwig. The only other Triple-A players to do so since 2005 are Jackson Holliday, Luis Garcia Jr., Billy Butler and Prince Fielder, per Helwig. Butler and Fielder went on to become MLB All-Stars. Holliday, who made his major league debut in 2024, was the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball at the time of his homer.

Emerson made the climb from High-A to Triple-A during a standout 2025 campaign. He joined the Rainiers on Sept. 16 and went 10 for 30 (.333 average) with two homers, two doubles and nine RBIs in eight games including the postseason, which included a homer in his Rainiers debut.

A first-round pick in the 2023 draft, Emerson is the consensus top prospect in the Mariners’ farm system. ESPN ranks him as the No. 6 prospect league-wide, Baseball America ranks him No. 7 and MLB Pipeline No. 9.

The shortstop was one of the major storylines for the Mariners during spring training as he entered camp with an outside shot of making the 26-man roster for opening day.

Emerson put together a strong spring in Cactus League play. He slashed .268/.340/.488 with an .828 OPS, two homers, a double, a triple, eight RBIs and five walks to 10 strikeouts over 18 games.

The Mariners ultimately decided to start their shortstop of the future in the minors this season, but he is expected to reach the big leagues this year.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Roster Moves: M’s place Carlos Vargas on IL, call up reliever
• Seattle Mariners’ next 3 games are on 3 different TV platforms
• M’s Overreactions: Five ways to put too much stock into one game
• Canzone shows breakout can continue with two-homer game
• Seattle Mariners still acclimating to ABS Challenge System after its debut