Scouting Report

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 40 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55

The Pittsburgh area might not seem like a high school baseball hotbed, but it has produced some solid Draft talent, from 2020 first-round pick Austin Hendrick back to 2004 first-rounder Neil Walker. Young, who attends North Allegheny High School in the suburbs north of the city, was a mainstay and steady performer on the summer showcase circuit, and a solid, if unspectacular spring, gives him the chance to join them in the opening round.

Young is the kind of player who needs to be seen more than once to be truly appreciated, as his feel for the game is greater than any jump off the page tools. That said, he does have impressive bat-to-ball skills from the left side of the plate. He doesn’t swing and miss much, doesn’t look overmatched against velocity and shows the ability to use the whole field. While he’s not a huge power guy, there is some impact here, with gap power.

An above-average runner who is capable of taking the extra base, Young has enough range and savvy, to go along with an above-average arm, to stay at shortstop long-term. The Duke recruit has received comps to left-handed hitting infielders like Adam Frazier, with more extra-base impact and a better chance to stick at short, and former first-rounder Stephen Drew.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55

After taking college pitchers in the first round three years in a row from 2018 to 2020, the Mariners turned their attention to high school hitters for the next three Drafts, starting with Harry Ford in 2021 and most recently, Colt Emerson in 2023. Sandwiched between those two prep standouts was Young, taken No. 21 overall in 2022 from the Pittsburgh area. In his year-plus in pro ball, Young hasn’t looked like a raw high schooler from a cold-weather region, using his advanced feel for hitting to perform well across two levels of A ball in his first full season of pro ball.

Young has shown an exciting ability to hit the ball hard to all fields from the left side of the plate. He has impressive contact skills, striking out in less than 15 percent of his plate appearances in 2023 while drawing nearly as many walks. He’s added a good amount of strength since being drafted and is approaching average power as he’s learned to turn on pitches, with confidence that some of the 34 doubles he hit in 2023 will reach the seats in the future.

A smart and aggressive above-average runner, Young has enough range and arm to play shortstop for a long time. He’s seen some time on the right side of second to provide some positional versatility, something that could come in handy since his advanced bat looks like it could get him to Seattle sooner rather than later.

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55

Despite growing up in Pittsburgh, an area not known as a baseball hotbed, Young blossomed into one of the best pure-hitting high school prospects in the 2022 Draft. The left-handed hitter was a regular standout on the summer showcase circuit. Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto described Young as having “the sweetest swing” among that year’s contingent, illuminating how much the club values his hit tool, enough for the M’s to select him at No. 21 overall. 

Young ascended so quickly after the Draft that the Mariners promoted him to Single-A Modesto one month later, where he slashed an eye-popping .385/.422/.539 in 10 games. What stood out most in that small sample was his all-field ability, and he’s quickly become a favorite of the Mariners’ mantra of 'Dominate The Zone.' And despite his 6-foot frame, the Mariners believe that there is more power potential after he added 12-15 pounds of muscle in their offseason program, prompting one scout to suggest that his “power will surprise everybody in baseball.”

Young is also an above-average runner and has enough range and arm to stick at shortstop long term, which -- after the club dealt Noelvi Marte to the Reds in the Luis Castillo blockbuster -- makes him the top middle-infield prospect in the system. He’s drawn comps to lefty-hitting infielder Adam Frazier but with more extra-base impact.

Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 40 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

The Pittsburgh area might not seem like a high school baseball hotbed, but it has produced some solid Draft talent, from 2020 first-round pick Austin Hendrick back to 2004 first-rounder Neil Walker. Young, who attended North Allegheny High School in the suburbs north of the city, was a mainstay and steady performer on the summer showcase circuit, and a solid -- if unspectacular -- spring enabled him to join that group when the Mariners took him No. 21 overall.

Young is the kind of player you can appreciate the more you see him, as his feel for the game is greater than any jump-off-the-page tools. That said, he does have impressive bat-to-ball skills from the left side of the plate. He doesn’t swing-and-miss much, doesn’t look overmatched against velocity and shows the ability to use the whole field. While he’s not a huge power guy, there is some impact here, with gap power.

An above-average runner who is capable of taking the extra base, Young has enough range and savvy, to go along with an above-average arm, to stay at shortstop long term. He’s received comps to left-handed hitting infielders like Adam Frazier, with more extra-base impact and a better chance to stick at short, and former first-rounder Stephen Drew.

Awards

TEX Player of the Week

Week	Team
09/01/2024

Futures Game Selection

Year	Team
2024

MiLB.com Organization All-Star

Year	Team
2023

CAL Post-Season All-Star

Year	Team
2023

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	09/25/2024	SS Cole Young assigned to Peoria Javelinas.
	07/15/2024	Arkansas Travelers activated SS Cole Young.
	07/14/2024	American League Futures activated SS Cole Young.
	07/12/2024	Arkansas Travelers placed SS Cole Young on the temporarily inactive list.
	04/02/2024	SS Cole Young assigned to Arkansas Travelers from Everett AquaSox.
	03/07/2024	Seattle Mariners Prospects activated SS Cole Young.
	02/07/2024	Seattle Mariners invited non-roster SS Cole Young to spring training.
	07/14/2023	SS Cole Young assigned to Everett AquaSox from Modesto Nuts.
	07/14/2023	Everett AquaSox activated SS Cole Young.
	03/17/2023	SS Cole Young and assigned to Seattle Mariners.
	08/30/2022	SS Cole Young assigned to Modesto Nuts from ACL Mariners.
	08/30/2022	Modesto Nuts activated SS Cole Young.
	08/15/2022	SS Cole Young assigned to ACL Mariners.
	07/26/2022	Seattle Mariners signed SS Cole Young.
	06/01/2022	SS Cole Young and assigned to College Workout.
	09/23/2021	SS Cole Young and assigned to American.
	08/18/2021	SS Cole Young and assigned to PG East.
	07/13/2021	PG National 6 - Navy activated SS Cole Young.
	07/08/2021	American activated SS Cole Young.
	07/08/2021	American activated SS Cole Young.