SEATTLE -- The Cole Young era began with murmurs 35 miles south of T-Mobile Park on Friday, when the 21-year-old infielder was pulled in the fourth inning of Triple-A Tacoma’s game. It became official a few hours later, when sources confirmed to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer that the Mariners were indeed calling up their No. 3 prospect.
Saturday, it arrived in earnest, with Young becoming the youngest Mariner to make his MLB debut since Julio Rodríguez, starting at second base and batting eighth against the Twins.
Eleven innings later, he made a heck of a first impression. He didn’t paste the ball; he didn’t even get a hit. But did exactly what the Mariners needed him to do, chopping a grounder up the first-base line for a fielder’s choice to drive in the game-winning run in Seattle’s 5-4 walk-off win over the Twins.
The grounder was the 21-year-old’s first career RBI. It came after Young logged his first career hit in the bottom of the ninth, lacing a single into right field.
“He’s a guy who’s going to be here, and he’s going to play a lot,” manager Dan Wilson said prior to his debut. “He’s earned that, he’s going to get a chance to do that. Put him in the lineup and see how things go.”
Young became the highest-ranked Mariners infield prospect to make his debut with the club since Ketel Marte in 2015.
Two months ago, such a callup seemed unlikely to come so early in the season. Young, the Mariners’ first-round pick (No. 21 overall) in the 2022 Draft, came to Major League Spring Training for the first time not at full strength, dealing with an arm injury that limited him to just 13 games -- six of which came as a designated hitter. Going from Peoria to Tacoma for his first dose of Triple-A action to begin the year, he hit .190 through April, with just five extra-base hits and five RBIs. Since May 2, though, he’s hit .385 with a 1.195 OPS, five home runs and 21 RBIs.
“It’s just sticking with my approach,” Young told reporters in Tacoma on Thursday. “Picking my spot and swinging at good pitches and just trusting my abilities. The first month, I was kind of in between pitches, not really trusting myself. Now I’m in a good spot where I’m trusting myself completely.”
“Being able to really turn things around and get to the point where he’s feeling a lot more like himself, that’s what you love to see,” Wilson added Saturday. “We talk a lot about identity here, and [he’s] a guy that’s playing [within] his identity right now. We knew that he had a lot of bat-to-ball skills, and he’s really done that down in Tacoma.”
Young’s callup is the latest change to a Seattle lineup that’s undergone its fair share of flux over the first two months of the season. The 21-year-old will be the sixth starting second baseman for the Mariners in 56 games; Seattle started just five in all of 2024. Ryan Bliss, who manned the spot on Opening Day, is likely out for the year with a torn left biceps. Jorge Polanco has started just one game in the field since April 5, shifting over nearly entirely to DH. Leo Rivas, whose 15 starts trail only Dylan Moore, was optioned Saturday in a corresponding move for Young.
Meanwhile, Ben Williamson has seized the starting third baseman role since getting called up on April 13; he started all but two games in May, giving the Mariners a starting lineup Saturday that featured as many infielders who featured in Tacoma’s Opening Day lineup as ones who were in Seattle’s.
“There’s some immediate bond there,” Wilson said. “They’ll be able to lean on each other a little bit. It’s nice as a young player to have another young player to make sure you’re feeling the same things that you should be feeling and all that.”
Young’s callup took top billing away from another more expected roster move, with Bryce Miller returning from the 15-day IL to make his first start since May 11. The right-hander dealt with inflammation in his right elbow throughout his first eight starts, which led to a 5.22 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, no outings longer than 5 2/3 innings and a fastball that dropped in average velocity by 0.8 mph from last year.
Saturday’s return gave the Mariners -- and Miller -- plenty to be optimistic about. He struck out the first two batters he faced in a 1-2-3 first inning, worked around some trouble in a three-run second and finished with four innings under his belt, throwing 71 pitches in total.
"I’m glad to be back,” the right-hander said. “It’s not very entertaining doing nothing for 18 days. I felt good. I think the first inning was as good as it gets; that felt like the old me.”
“Great to get him back out on the mound today,” Wilson said. “… I know he’s excited to get back out there.”
The Mariners opted to not send Miller out on a rehab assignment, keeping him with the team while he dealt with his rest and recovery. His return puts the Seattle rotation -- which at one point was down to just two healthy starts from the Opening Day set -- back to 80% health. Only Logan Gilbert, who began a rehab assignment in Tacoma on Thursday, is still out.