What you need to know about Mariners’ No. 22 pick, high school shortstop Colt Emerson

Shortstop Colt Emerson, New Concord, Ohio (Glenn High) 

Drafted: First round, number 22 overall. 

Height: 6-1

Weight: 197

Birth date: July 20, 2005.

Three things to know about Emerson

• Emerson is one of the youngest players in the draft, still just 17 years old. Emerson, who has committed to play at Auburn, was rated by Baseball America as the No. 27 draft prospect and the No. 12 high-school prospect.
• Emerson played football at John Glenn High and caught 58 passes for 756 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior and also played safety. But after being named as an All-Ohio football pick as a junior, he decided not to play as a senior.
• At the age of 12, Emerson was part of a team representing the United States that won the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-12 championship in Taiwan, something he said earlier this year to bvmsports.com was “one of the best memories I’ve had. I feel like it helped me mature a lot.’’

Quote to note

“Colt is a left-handed hitting high school shortstop from Ohio. He is a pure hitter who already possesses an advanced knowledge of the strike zone. As a member of Team USA last summer, he was an important part of the lineup that won the Gold Medal. We see Colt as an advanced hitter who will not only hit for average but power in the future. Colt’s leadership and polished approach to the game makes us extremely excited to add him to our organization.” — Mariners director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter. 

What the scouts say

“The 6-foot-1, 197-pound infielder is a pure hitter, with a smooth and compact left-handed swing that stays in the zone a long time. Scouts rave about the repeatability and balance of his swing. … While he’s much more hit-over-power currently, he did put on plenty of good weight in the offseason and started hitting the ball harder and farther in the spring. Emerson has turned in above average run times, but is more of an average runner who has a chance to stick at shortstop with solid arm strength or slide over to either second or third base.‘’ — Baseball America.