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.