Cole Young
- Seattle’s roster as it stands starts at 3B · 535 PA · 1.1 WAR in the role
- Trade read Unlikely to be traded: Young and cheap for years (age 23, about $63M of surplus value through 2031): a core piece.
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 640 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 217 | .270 | .294 | 20% | 6% | 31% | −0.18 | −0.44 |
| RHP | 423 | .333 | .328 | 15% | 8% | 31% | −0.18 | +0.16 |
- Attack angle
- 5.9° (48% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- −1.7°
- Swing length
- 6.9 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 20%
- Pull-air %
- 18.9%
- Hard-hit %
- 37.5%
- Slash · wRC+
- .246/.312/.381 · 102
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage up over the middle (+1.9 vs. league per 100; 1.0 standard errors on 130 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest down and away (−2.2), but only 1.1 standard errors from average on 117 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 2,200 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Young: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | Carlos Cortes ATH · ’97 | .300 | −0.7 | 0.0 | Pre-arb |
| 69 | Vaughn Grissom LAA · ’01 | .309 | 0.2 | 0.1 | — |
| 64 | Carson Benge NYM · ’03 | .343 | 4.3 | 3.3 | Pre-arb |
| 61 | Trevor Larnach MIN · ’97 | .329 | 2.2 | 1.0 | Arb |
| 61 | Tommy Edman LAD · ’95 | .306 | 1.3 | 1.0 | Signed $15.7M |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | SS | −1 | −1 | 0.0 | −1.0 | 180 |
| 2026 | 2B | −5 | −4 | −0.1 | −4.1 | 5,719 |
| 2025 | SS | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9 |
| 2025 | 2B | −9 | −7 | −0.8 | −7.8 | 2,604 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At 2B in 2026, the biggest loss came toward 3B line (−7 outs): a coaching target, though he plays 3B in 2027.
Tools (percentile; arm among 2Bs)| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2B | 563 | −4.2 |
| 2025 | 2B | 246 | −2.1 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
* projected arbitration or minimum salary. Contract Studio →
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025AAA | AAA | Tacoma Rainiers | 21 | 54 | 245 PA | 245 PA · .277/.392/.461 · 5 HR · 11.4% K · 12.7% BB |
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant