Colt Emerson focused on having fun rather than MLB draft
Editor’s note: The Seattle Mariners selected SS Colt Emerson with the No. 22 pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft on July 9.
NEW CONCORD, Ohio (BVM) –At the age of 12, Colt Emerson was already representing the United States on the baseball field. His team traveled to Taiwan where they took home a gold medal.
Like every kid, Emerson had the dream of making it as far as he could in the game, but this type of experience was able to turn him into the prospect that he is today.
“As a young baseball player, that’s one of the best memories I’ve had,” Emerson said. “I feel like it helped me mature a lot.”
Now Emerson is one of the best high school players in the entire country. According to Prospects Live, he is the No. 15 prospect for the upcoming MLB draft. The John Glenn High School shortstop stands at 6-foot, 185 pounds, and consistently makes hard contact at the plate.
As a junior, he hit .459 with a 1.427 OPS.
SS Colt Emerson (OH, 2023) shortens up with two strikes and flips this LHP FB the other way for a leadoff single. Physical player that has shown a strong arm and good actions at shortstop this summer, as well as advanced hit traits like this. Big OH Valley follow, Auburn commit. pic.twitter.com/hnLvA2SWfW
— Will Hoefer (@whoeferbaseball) October 9, 2022
While Emerson has the tools from a physical standpoint that will catch the attention of scouts, it is the mental side that has driven him this far in his career. It was never a question for him if he would have a future in baseball.
“It was set in stone in my mind that this is what I was going to do,” Emerson said.
In August of his sophomore year, he announced his commitment to Auburn University.
After a lot of thought, I’m extremely excited to announce I have committed to Auburn University to further my academic and baseball career! I would like to thank my parents the most who have got me to the place I am now and to all of my coaches, teammates, and friends #wareagle🦅 pic.twitter.com/L5ysH93sRj
— Colt Emerson (@Colt_emerson) August 16, 2020
“I had a great connection with the coaches,” Emerson said. “The facilities are awesome, the campus is awesome and the people down there are amazing.”
He also saw the caliber of program that they have on the Plains and realized it could be a chance to win a national title.
“The biggest thing about me is I want to win no matter what,” Emerson said. “I will do anything to win.”
Emerson has the same attitude towards his senior season. Despite his situation of possibly going very early in this year’s draft, he is focused on enjoying his final year of high school.
“I don’t look too far ahead,” Emerson said. “I just want to be myself and play baseball.”
And for Emerson, there is not much he’d rather do than that, whether it is actually playing in a game or just getting reps in the batting cage or fielding ground balls.
Starting to love Colt Emerson (OH) quite a bit.
Wiry frame, quick hands. Emerson utilizes gap-to-gap power and has good speed. Ran a 6.77 60 and showed a good arm across the infield. Tattoos this ball to the warning track in right center, 96 off the bat. pic.twitter.com/6on5zAjWDD
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 23, 2022
“If I wasn’t doing that, what else would I be doing?” Emerson said. “People make it too much about, ‘Hey, I have to do this or I have to do that.’ No, I get to do it. This is fun, this is what I love.”
Regardless of how accomplished Emerson becomes throughout his career, that mindset will never change for him.
“I think my biggest goal is staying within myself and not making it bigger than what it is,” Emerson said. “I just want to have fun and be a good teammate.”
