Mariners infield prospect Cole Young impresses in major league debut

SEATTLE (AP) — When infielder Cole Young appeared in the Futures Game in Arlington, Texas, last July, he did so as a Mariners prospect who had recently been promoted to Double-A Arkansas.

It was a taste of what loomed, and motivated Young to keep pushing in the hopes of eventually making it to T-Mobile Park.

“Since that game,” Young said, “that’s when I kind of imagined myself being in this park and debuting.”

The 21-year-old got his wish Saturday night after being promoted from Triple-A Tacoma, and more than held his own in his major league debut against the Minnesota Twins. Young hit a fielder’s choice in the 11th inning for his first RBI, giving the Mariners a 5-4 victory in the process.

Suffice to say, it was the type of outcome Young usually dreamt up while playing backyard baseball in Wexford, Pennsylvania. Well, for the most part.

“Usually it’s in the World Series,” Young said. “But I never imagined in my debut I’d hit a walk-off. I didn’t sleep last night. I was just thinking of every scenario that could happen, and walk-off was not in my mind.”

Not only did Young, who started at second base and hit eighth, also had his first hit hit. It didn’t take long for the No. 21 overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft to showcase his offensive potential, which was on full display with Tacoma.

For the season, Young was hitting .277 with an .853 OPS for the Rainiers. In May, though, Young was particularly excellent, hitting .366 with a .467 on-base percentage, as well as 10 doubles, three triples and five home runs.

“He’s been on fire down in Tacoma and has swung the bat very, very well,” manager Dan Wilson said. “It’s exciting to have him here and part of the club today.”

So, too, was it an exciting evening for Young and his family. Both his mother and father flew out to Seattle from the Pittsburgh suburbs, as well as Young’s brother and best friend.

He broke the news that he was getting called up to the big leagues to his family last night during Tacoma’s game, which caught his folks just a bit by surprise.

“I think the best reaction was my mom,” Young said. “She was just like screaming, screaming on the phone. And I started crying. I think that’s when it hit me, really, when I started crying and she was crying, too. And then I called some of my friends and they were just in shock.”

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As is to be expected, Young admitted he was a bit nervous the first couple of innings, and then started to settle in after his base hit. It was hardly a cool and collected moment for Young, though, after his game-winning fielder’s choice, as teammates collectively mobbed him beyond first base.

All told, the evening went about as well as Young could have expected it to – and in due time, he looks forward to being able to take it all in.

“I still haven’t wrapped my head around the game,” Young said. “But, it’s been an unreal 24 hours.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB