Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto presented a historical perspective around the development of second baseman Cole Young.
“To get to the level he did at the age he did … those players generally stay around a long time,” Dipoto said recently. “Those are guys that you look up and they had 10-, 12-, 15-year careers and did really special things. And I think we’re going to look up and that’s what it’s going to be for Cole.”
It’s starting to happen already.
A year after making his MLB debut as a 21-year-old, Young is making a case as the best second baseman in baseball through the first month of this season.
Benched as a rookie at the end of last season, Young has emerged as the most intriguing early-season development for the Mariners. Since Robinson Cano’s final season in 2018, the Mariners have had a different starting second baseman on opening day for each of the past nine seasons.
It appears they have their long-sought answer for a long-term solution at second base.
Young leads the Mariners in Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metric at 1.8, a mark that puts him No. 1 among American League second baseman and No. 7 among all position players:
1. Matt Olson, 1B, Braves — 2.0
2. Kevin McGonigle, SS, Tigers — 2.0
3. Nico Hoerner, 2B, Cubs — 1.9
4. Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros — 1.9
5. Mike Trout, OF, Angels — 1.9
6. Andy Pages, OF, Dodgers — 1.8
7. Cole Young, 2B, Mariners — 1.8
Young hit .500 (11 for 22) on the just-complete road trip, driving in the tying and winning runs in his final two at-bats of Wednesday’s comeback victory and helping the Mariners go 5-1 in St. Louis and Minnesota.
At 16-16, the M’s have climbed back to .500 as they head home for a six-game series starting Friday against Kansas City, and Young is a key figure in their resurgence.
When he debuted with the Mariners in late May 2025, Young was one of the three youngest players in the majors. He had a solid stretch of productivity in June and July, but by September he was relegated to a bench role, and he was included on the Mariners’ playoff rosters.
Young later acknowledged he had felt worn down physically in his first big-league season.
After some blunt encouragement from Julio Rodríguez at the end of last season, Young refined his diet over the winter and reshaped his body, reporting to spring camp noticeably stronger and more athletic.
“He’s quiet in the way he goes about his business,” Dipoto said. “He knows he’s good, but he’s humble in how he approaches it.”
A 22-year-old left-handed hitter, Young has a .286/.357/.420 slash line (. 777 OPS) with three homers, four doubles, one triple and a team-leading 19 RBI in his first 126 plate appearances of the season.
Notably, two of Young’s three homers have come vs. left-handed pitchers, against whom he’s hitting .324 with a .940 OPS in 37 plate appearances.
“He’s always raked,” Dipoto said. “He doesn’t swing and miss a ton. He gets on base. He’s now showing you some of the power that you’ve seen in flashes — and power that plays in our ballpark as a left-handed hitter.”
Young’s most dramatic transformation has come with his glove.
In 621 innings on defense as a rookie, Young was rated as one of the league’s worst second baseman by advanced metrics, credited with a minus-7 Fielding Run Value and a minus-9 in Outs Above Average.
In his first 32 games this season, Young ranks No. 1 at his position in the Defensive Runs Saved metric, with eight runs saved.
“Very impressed,” M’s first baseman Josh Naylor said this week. “But it’s a credit to his work on and off the field. He grew a lot this spring. He asked a lot of questions. He gained a lot of knowledge. He worked his butt off in early work, pregame stuff, postgame. I mean, he’s doing phenomenal because he’s putting in the work.”
Most impressive of all, Young also ranks No. 1 among all position players in Baseball Reference’s defensive WAR rating, at 1.0.
“The defense looks considerably easier for him — better range, more arm strength,” Dipoto said. “He’s just doing things that at the tail end of last year looked like it was a little bit more laborious. Now, it’s explosive.”
Young worked closely with infield coach Perry Hill throughout the spring on all aspect of defense, but one particular area of focus was on ground balls going to Young’s right.
That extra work is showing up in a big way. Young has made several highlight-reel diving stops on grounders to his right, on top of a handful of backhanded plays up the middle, punctuated by an accurate and intentional one-hop throw to first base.
“The biggest thing is just making every routine play and taking pride in that,” Young said. “If I can get to some of the tough balls to get to, that’s great. But the main goal is just to make all the routine ones.”
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