All eyes have been on top Seattle Mariners prospect Colt Emerson this spring.

Salk’s Takeaway: This is most complete M’s team I have seen

Emerson, who’s ranked as a top-10 prospect in baseball by various publications, rocketed through the minor leagues during an impressive 2025 season, making the jump from High-A to Triple-A over the course of the year. It ended with an impressive showing in his brief stint in Triple-A where he hit .333 (10 for 30) with two homers and two doubles in eight games (including the playoffs) with the Tacoma Rainiers.

The rise Emerson made and the hype that has come along with it has had many wondering if he can emulate Julio Rodríguez in 2022 and put together such an impressive spring that he leaves the M’s no options but to break camp with him on the 26-man roster.

The door hasn’t been closed for Emerson to do just that, but ESPN MLB writer David Schoenfield thinks it would be wise for the M’s resist any temptation to open the season with their top prospect in the majors. He explained why to Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Tuesday.

Schoenfield first noted that the M’s don’t need Emerson to be up right away because they still have a solid everyday shortstop in J.P. Crawford, who is set to become a free agent after this season.

Crawford, the longest-tenured player on Seattle’s roster, slashed .265/.352/.370 with a .722 OPS, 12 homers and 24 doubles while producing 3.8 bWAR over 157 games last season. His .352 on-base percentage was sixth among qualified shortstops and his 113 wRC+ was 10th.

“J.P. is going to be the shortstop this year,” Schoenfield said. “Yeah, you can dig into some of the numbers. The range clearly isn’t what it used to be for the former Gold Glove winner. He’s lost a step or two on defense, but he bounced back last year from a poor 2024 when he had some injuries. He had a really nice offensive year, a .352 on base (and) 3.8 WAR. That’s a really good player.

“Colt Emerson, is he their shortstop of the future? Absolutely. Is he the shortstop in 2026? No, J.P.’s your guy. He’s a solid veteran clubhouse leader. He’s your guy this year, no doubt about that.”

Top M’s prospect Emerson continues to shine at camp

Playing another infield position like third base or second base is another path Emerson could have to making the big league team. But Schoenfield doesn’t see those as pressing needs, either.

“You play (Brendan) Donovan at third, you play Cole Young at second and you’re fine with that infield,” he said. “And if Emerson hits his way into the majors, proves he can dominate Triple-A, then he’ll force his way into the lineup.”

Ultimately, Schoenfield would like to see the 20-year-old Emerson get more at-bats at the higher levels of the minors. He was promoted from High-A Everett to Double-A Arkansas on Aug. 4 last year and has less than 200 at-bats and 50 games played above High-A.

“As excited as we are about him, we know he’s a top-10 overall prospect in the game, but that leap from the minor leagues to the majors is huge,” Schoenfield said. “… So even though Emerson, I think he’s close to being ready … he needs some time in Triple-A.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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