PEORIA, Ariz. -- The loudest home run of the Mariners' game on Friday belonged to a name you might not expect.
Not Cal Raleigh. Not Julio Rodríguez. Not even Randy Arozarena or Josh Naylor.
No, the man wielding the biggest swing on Friday night was 22-year-old second baseman Cole Young. And for those watching closely, this actually isn’t out of the norm.
Young’s tape-measure blast off former Seattle reliever Matt Festa was his second of the night in Friday’s 20-8 rout of the Guardians at Goodyear Ballpark -- and team-leading sixth in Cactus League play.
In between the deep flies, he yanked a two-run double that was part of a floodgates-opening night with most Mariners regulars playing in the leadup to Opening Day. It was a good sign for a club that finally has its league-high 18 players within the organization back from the World Baseball Classic, and was playing against the team that it will meet next Thursday at T-Mobile Park.
Young actually paced the Mariners’ leaderboard last year for a single home run distance when he crushed a 456-foot blast into the second deck at T-Mobile Park on July 31.
Yes, that included each of Raleigh’s record-setting 60 and the 258 total that the club hit in 2025 (including postseason) en route to winning the American League West.
For someone who fans outside Seattle might not know much about, Young is the player that could legitimately raise the floor to a lineup that has warranted World Series aspirations.
Selected with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, Young broke into the big leagues last May 31 and made quite the impression with a walk-off fielder’s choice in his debut. He then experienced expected highs and lows throughout a rookie season that ultimately led to him losing his grip on the second-base job to Jorge Polanco by October.
“I definitely struggled with that last year,” Young said recently. “Obviously, when I got called up, I wanted to produce instantly, and like, I wanted to show that I can play at this level. And, yeah, it definitely made it tough when you're also competing for a playoff spot. So that was something I feel like I could have done better last year, is just stick to my process more. And usually, whenever I stick to my process, good things happen.”
But the Mariners remained bullish on his long-term upside, by entering camp with him back atop the depth chart at the position despite adding veteran Brendan Donovan (who will play third base) and the chance to bolster the roster with other external additions.
And that decision -- at least in this incredibly early stage -- appears to be paying off.
In Cactus play, Young is 15-for-51 with the six homers -- the most by a Mariner in Spring Training since Daniel Vogelbach hit seven in 2018 -- four doubles and 18 RBIs, also a team lead, good for a slash line of .294/.368/.725 (1.093 OPS).
Opening Day is right around the corner, and for a player who looks completely dialed in -- and eager to rebound from a disappointing finish -- it can’t come soon enough.