Cole Young, 20, key part of AquaSox’s surge into playoffs

EVERETT — Cole Young is at the plate at Funko Field, and he’s the absolute portrait of “dominate the zone.”

The Everett AquaSox shortstop and Seattle Mariners prized prospect is taking batting practice prior to Thursday’s game against the Eugene Emeralds, and he’s doing everything to personify the Mariners’ mantra of “dominate the zone.” When the pitch is in the zone he’s spraying line drives all over the field with an effortless left-handed swing. When it’s out of the zone he watches it go past without so much as an offer. Heck, he’s even sporting the Sox’s new turquoise t-shirts that say “dominate the zone” on the back.

Indeed, Young’s ability to dominate the zone is the main reason why he’s had an instant impact on the Northwest League, and he’s played a central role in the Sox’s drive to the league championship series.

Young, 20, was the Mariners’ first-round pick in the 2022 draft when he was selected 21st overall out of North Allegheny High School in Pittsburgh. The 6-foot, 180-pounder is in his first full professional season, and he’s more than justifying his lofty draft position. He began the season at Single-A Modesto before being promoted to High-A Everett in July. Since joining the Sox, Young has been an offensive force, batting .290 with an .882 OPS through Thursday, despite being more than three years younger than the average Northwest League player. Young’s play this season recently saw MLB.com elevate him to the top spot in Seattle’s prospect rankings.

“He’s been outstanding,” Everett manager Ryan Scott said. “It’s what we expected from Cole, having had him last year at Modesto a little bit, we knew what kind of a player he was and what he was capable of. He came up here and fit in seamlessly. He’s just one of the guys in the locker room. I know he’s younger than everybody else, but he doesn’t act like it, he goes about his business the right way and he’s been really fun to watch.”

Young provided a spark in the leadoff spot of Everett’s lineup (32 runs in 46 games), and he’s been a steady glove at short (.976 fielding percentage). But the asset that best defines Young as a prospect is his control of the strike zone.

Young has an excellent walk-to-strikeout ratio, drawing 34 free passes against 38 strikeouts in 46 games, leading to a sterling .407 on-base percentage that makes him the ideal leadoff hitter. Young’s strike-zone mastery is impressive for anyone, but it’s especially advanced for a player his age. He and Harry Ford (.410 on-base percentage) give Everett a devastating duo at the top of its lineup.

“My job is not to screw him up,” Everett hitting coach Michael Fransoso said with a laugh.

“He’s been really good since he got here,” Fransoso added. “He controls the plate so well when he gets up there. The swing decisions are really good, he knows what pitch he’s looking for and he takes his walks, he walks a ton. It makes it really difficult on the pitcher. He can do so many things athletically with his bat. He uses the whole field, he hits a ton of line drives. He’s in control when he’s up there and it’s really impressive for a 20-year-old kid to do that.”

Young’s batting style is something of a throwback. In an era of launch angles, exit velocities and three true outcomes (home run, walk or strikeout), Young has an easygoing level swing that lends itself to making contact.

“Loose and athletic is how I would describe his swing,” Fransoso said. “There’s not a lot of effort behind it in terms of how hard he swings. He has very good bat-to-ball skills, he can kind of manipulate his swing to use the whole field. He can take an inside pitch and hit it to the opposite field, he can be in front of an offspeed pitch and pull it, he can do a lot of different things with his bat.”

It all comes naturally for Young. Both the swing and approach have been with him since the beginning of his baseball days.

“Honestly, I think I’ve always had the same swing,” Young said. “It’s just going out there and hitting, not trying to over-complicate it. I just go up and let my natural swing take over.

“I’ve always wanted to get in good counts because I knew if I got in good counts I’d get a fastball or something good to hit,” Young added. “I’ve always tried to dominate the zone, just take pitches and make sure I get a good pitch to hit.”

Young’s smooth swing and contact ability don’t mean he’s lacking power. Young has slugged six homers with the Sox, which projects to 18 over a full season. And Fransoso believes there’s more to come.

“He has the potential for more power for sure, and I think he’s going to grow into it,” Fransoso said. “As he gets older, plays more games and understands pitchers and approaches, that’s when he can maybe start to take more chances and swing a little bit harder at certain pitches. We don’t want him to ever lose that bat-to-ball skill in exchange for more power. But I think as he gets older he’ll grow into some of the power he already has and it will only get better. I think you’ll see his home run numbers go up as he climbs up in his career.”

It’s no coincidence that Young arrived after the All-Star break and Everett surged into first place in the second-half standings. The Sox went 15-3 in the 18 games leading up to Friday, and Young was right in the thick of it. In the past 10 games he batted .410 with a .500 on-base percentage.

Now Young and the Sox hope that surge continues into the postseason, when Everett faces Vancouver in the best-of-five championship series beginning Tuesday.

“I can’t wait, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Young said. “We all can’t wait, we’re all super excited for it. I know Vancouver is a good team, so we’re just going to go out, bring out the energy, have fun and compete.”

And having a player at the top of the lineup who dominates the zone the way Young does certainly helps the Sox’s chances.

Northwest League Championship Series

The Everett AquaSox face the Vancouver Canadians for the Northwest League championship next week. The best-of-five series begins Tuesday, with the first two games in Everett. The series then moves to Vancouver on Friday, with if-necessary games on Saturday and Sunday.