8/13 GT: Observation Mode Activated

[rockycola]

Curious why people think he's going to have a good career still. There's about 8:21-year-olds in the league right now and all of them have WRC plus over 100 and he's at 70.

True; he might not.
As I always do, he gets the benefit of the doubt.

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me - I've had the "shame on me" too many times to count, unfortunately.

Not all 21-year-olds mature at the same rate.

Then there's Kelenic. He was a legend in his own mind; now he's toast.

[Donn Beach]

Emerson struggling with high fastballs. Wasnt that the issue with Young last season? He probably deserves a chance to fix it. It does demostrate how effective big league pitchers are at exploiting a weakness once its uncovered

It's a tough but necessary step for the 21-year-old shortstop, who has been struggling of late on both sides of the ball. Never one to strike out much – his career strikeout rate in the minors is around 17% – Emerson has been struggling to adjust to big-league pitching, striking out at double the rate he was in the minors. He's been especially susceptible to high fastballs, frequently expanding up, but has also struggled with catching up to big-league fastballs on the plate. He's striking out on fastballs over 50% of the time; his Statcast bat-tracking data shows how often he's late on fastballs, and how often he's swinging under them rather than on-plane.


Emerson is also struggling on breaking and off-speed pitches, although maybe not as much as one might expect; however, the fastball issue isn't getting better, and pitchers continue to exploit his weakness there. It's a big ask of a 21-year-old who is also playing the most demanding position on the field – non-catcher division – but it's become apparent that Emerson hasn't been able to make an adjustment, even when the attack plan for opposing pitchers is clear. He's simply being overwhelmed at this moment by big-league pitching, which is not an uncommon thing for a rookie getting their first taste of the big leagues, especially those who were pulled up to fill in for injury, as Emerson was to patch over the injured left side of the Mariners infield. But Emerson's defense has also been an issue

[seth8734]

Well I was wrong Jerry put his ego in a blender and sent his 100 million dollar Golden Boy get back down to the minors. He's still an idiot for signing him in the first place but at least he admitted he was wrong.

Thats why it's hard but u cannot extend prospects. They gotta handle it at this level. You gotta earn it. Colt has done nothing to earn it. Really hope Brock does well.

[Seattle or Bust]

Emerson struggling with high fastballs. Wasnt that the issue with Young last season? He probably deserves a chance to fix it. It does demostrate how effective big league pitchers are at exploiting a weakness once its uncovered

It's a tough but necessary step for the 21-year-old shortstop, who has been struggling of late on both sides of the ball. Never one to strike out much – his career strikeout rate in the minors is around 17% – Emerson has been struggling to adjust to big-league pitching, striking out at double the rate he was in the minors. He's been especially susceptible to high fastballs, frequently expanding up, but has also struggled with catching up to big-league fastballs on the plate. He's striking out on fastballs over 50% of the time; his Statcast bat-tracking data shows how often he's late on fastballs, and how often he's swinging under them rather than on-plane.


Emerson is also struggling on breaking and off-speed pitches, although maybe not as much as one might expect; however, the fastball issue isn't getting better, and pitchers continue to exploit his weakness there. It's a big ask of a 21-year-old who is also playing the most demanding position on the field – non-catcher division – but it's become apparent that Emerson hasn't been able to make an adjustment, even when the attack plan for opposing pitchers is clear. He's simply being overwhelmed at this moment by big-league pitching, which is not an uncommon thing for a rookie getting their first taste of the big leagues, especially those who were pulled up to fill in for injury, as Emerson was to patch over the injured left side of the Mariners infield. But Emerson's defense has also been an issue

Emerson had a 52% K rate vs 4-seem fastball.

Young 18% in '25.

I don't think their issues are remotely similar.

Curious to see what Rodden does. He probably should ditch switch hitting considering he's far, far superior from the left side.

[Donn Beach]

Both Emerson and Young late on fastballs, Young was worst in the league. Seems like there could be something similar, and Young was able to fix it

During his 2025 MLB debut stint with the Seattle Mariners, second baseman Cole Young struggled significantly against four-seam fastballs, recording a league-high late swing percentage and a weak .185 batting average against the pitch.

The 2025 Fastball Struggle
Late Swings: Young posted the highest late-swing percentage against fastballs in Major League Baseball (far above the 23% league average).

Poor Production:
Against four-seam fastballs specifically, he slashed just .185/.250 (AVG/SLG) with a 25.0% whiff rate.Result: The difficulty catching up to major-league velocity weighed down his overall rookie numbers (.211 AVG over 77 games) and led to him being left off the postseason roster.

The Offseason Fix
Targeted Drills: Young spent the subsequent offseason working extensively with high-velocity simulation tools, including a Trajekt machine, Driveline foam balls to read high-spin ride, and close-range "mini hack" setups to shrink his reaction window.

The Turnaround:
The adjustments successfully resolved his timing issues; his wOBA against fastballs jumped from a meager .250 in 2025 to .341, turning his former weakness into a productive part of his game.

[DavidGee24]

Both Emerson and Young late on fastballs, Young was worst in the league. Seems like there could be something similar, and Young was able to fix it

During his 2025 MLB debut stint with the Seattle Mariners, second baseman Cole Young struggled significantly against four-seam fastballs, recording a league-high late swing percentage and a weak .185 batting average against the pitch.

The 2025 Fastball Struggle
Late Swings: Young posted the highest late-swing percentage against fastballs in Major League Baseball (far above the 23% league average).

Poor Production:
Against four-seam fastballs specifically, he slashed just .185/.250 (AVG/SLG) with a 25.0% whiff rate.Result: The difficulty catching up to major-league velocity weighed down his overall rookie numbers (.211 AVG over 77 games) and led to him being left off the postseason roster.

The Offseason Fix
Targeted Drills: Young spent the subsequent offseason working extensively with high-velocity simulation tools, including a Trajekt machine, Driveline foam balls to read high-spin ride, and close-range "mini hack" setups to shrink his reaction window.

The Turnaround:
The adjustments successfully resolved his timing issues; his wOBA against fastballs jumped from a meager .250 in 2025 to .341, turning his former weakness into a productive part of his game.

Makes one wonder if Cal just sat on his ass all off-season eating Bon-Bons.

[Captain 97]

Comparison of their first seasons. Pretty much just the fact that he is playing shortstop is the only thing giving Colt a WAR advantage. I do think Colt has more upside than Kelenic. Kelenic was bit older and looked to be more physically mature when he came up than colt is. Colt needs to get in the weight room, build some muscle and increase his bat speed. I think he handles breaking balls better than Kelenic. Just needs to get to the point where he is not overpowered by heat.

[Captain 97]

Both Emerson and Young late on fastballs, Young was worst in the league. Seems like there could be something similar, and Young was able to fix it

During his 2025 MLB debut stint with the Seattle Mariners, second baseman Cole Young struggled significantly against four-seam fastballs, recording a league-high late swing percentage and a weak .185 batting average against the pitch.

The 2025 Fastball Struggle
Late Swings: Young posted the highest late-swing percentage against fastballs in Major League Baseball (far above the 23% league average).

Poor Production:
Against four-seam fastballs specifically, he slashed just .185/.250 (AVG/SLG) with a 25.0% whiff rate.Result: The difficulty catching up to major-league velocity weighed down his overall rookie numbers (.211 AVG over 77 games) and led to him being left off the postseason roster.

The Offseason Fix
Targeted Drills: Young spent the subsequent offseason working extensively with high-velocity simulation tools, including a Trajekt machine, Driveline foam balls to read high-spin ride, and close-range "mini hack" setups to shrink his reaction window.

The Turnaround:
The adjustments successfully resolved his timing issues; his wOBA against fastballs jumped from a meager .250 in 2025 to .341, turning his former weakness into a productive part of his game.

Makes one wonder if Cal just sat on his ass all off-season eating Bon-Bons.

I am convinced that Cal is not healthy and hasn't been all year. This is the guy who played all of 2024 with a torn ligament in his thumb on his glove hand and had surgery following the season. The fact that he went on the DL at all is a pretty strong sign that things aren't right physically.

[Donn Beach]

Cal seems like a well meaning guy. He was considered a real gym rat. The Mariners minor league conditioning coach named his kid after him, thats how close they became. But yeah, baseball has in fact become rocket science. I was thinking about it in terms of the other thread, can dipoto look up stats thread. Its become this disconnect with fans. And maybe it has with some players as well, namely Cal.

I was looking at thing from Buck Showalter. He was talking about FO control. Commented that a manager would lose a team if the players sensed the manager wasnt responsible for the lineup cards. Its an interesting point. I dont really buy Dipoto making out the lineups but if he is, is that a clubhouse issue?

But what i found really interesting were the comments. From around the country, fans complaining about controlling FOs, cleveland, boston, NY, all over. Fans with the same complaints about the FO as we get here. Thats why i see a lot of this really more of a baseball issue than a dipoto issue. Changing the manager or GM is really going to change much these days. Its cookie cutter, copycat all the way

[Donn Beach]

Both Emerson and Young late on fastballs, Young was worst in the league. Seems like there could be something similar, and Young was able to fix it

Makes one wonder if Cal just sat on his ass all off-season eating Bon-Bons.

I am convinced that Cal is not healthy and hasn't been all year. This is the guy who played all of 2024 with a torn ligament in his thumb on his glove hand and had surgery following the season. The fact that he went on the DL at all is a pretty strong sign that things aren't right physically.

thats a good point, inuries to me are probably the single biggest aspect to production issues and one that fans generally ignore. It will be, well if hes injured why doesnt he say so? Thats because that be an excuse