It’s officially Cole Young time in the Emerald City.
The Seattle Mariners promoted the highly touted 21-year-old second base prospect from Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday morning amid a series of roster moves. That comes after multiple reports of Young’s callup broke on Friday night.
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Young, a former first-round pick who had a torrid month of May in Tacoma, is expected to make his MLB debut in Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, according to The Seattle Times’ Adam Jude.
In a corresponding move, the Mariners optioned second baseman Leo Rivas to Tacoma.
Seattle also activated right-hander Bryce Miller from the 15-day injured list. Miller is slated to start Saturday’s game after landing on the IL with elbow inflammation on May 14.
In addition, the Mariners optioned right-handed reliever Casey Legumina and designated right-handed reliever Will Klein for assignment.
Known for his smooth left-handed swing and advanced bat-to-ball skills for his age, Young is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 43 overall prospect in baseball and the No. 3 prospect in Seattle’s system. Baseball America tabs him as the No. 51 overall prospect and the No. 2 prospect the Mariners’ system.
Young was selected by Seattle with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of North Allegheny High School in the Pittsburgh area. He made his pro debut in August 2022 and consistently produced at every level of the minor leagues, all while being one of the youngest players at each stop.
Young, who opened this season as the youngest position player in the Pacific Coast League, got off to a slow start in April at Triple-A Tacoma. But since the calendar flipped to May, he’s been on an absolute tear.
Over his past 24 games, Young batted .402 with five home runs, three triples, 10 doubles and a 1.244 OPS. That stretch that included a pair of massive homers – a 441-footer and a 458-footer – on back-to-back nights earlier this month and a five-hit game on Wednesday night. For the season, Young slashed .277/.392/.461 with five homers, five triples, 13 doubles and an .853 OPS in 54 games with Tacoma.
Young was drafted as a shortstop, but has been touted as the Mariners’ second baseman of the future. Rookie Ryan Bliss opened the year as Seattle’s starting second baseman, but suffered a biceps tear in early April that’s expected to sideline him for the rest of the season. With Bliss out, the Mariners’ second-base duties have been handled by utilityman Dylan Moore, Rivas and Miles Mastrobuoni.
Rivas, a 27-year-old middle infielder, hit .283 with a double and four stolen bases in 60 at-bats this season.
Young’s promotion could move Moore back into his usual super-utility role and Mastrobuoni into an option off the bench.
The Mariners (30-26) have lost five of their past six games and seven of their past 10. That stretch includes back-to-back extra-inning losses the past two nights, the latter of which dropped them out of first place atop the American League West. They now trail the Houston Astros by a half-game.
Seattle continues its three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday at T-Mobile Park, with first pitch scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Radio coverage can be heard on 710 AM Seattle Sports or the Seattle Sports app, beginning with the pregame show at 3 p.m.
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