By james art 
Cole Young was ready to showcase his slugging abilities during his second full minor league season. Dickey-Stephens Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, had other plans.
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Ultimately, it helped Young tap into who he is as a player.
Young was excellent during his first spring training with the Seattle Mariners last season. The highly regarded prospect slugged two doubles and two home runs while hitting .333 with a .987 OPS in 24 at-bats.
Young was willing to continue lingering with Seattle’s Arkansas affiliate. However, he soon learned that hitting in the Travelers’ home ballpark wouldn’t be the same as the offense-friendly one in the Cactus League.
“It definitely helped me a lot, and it took a little bit, but looking back, it was really good for me,” Young said last week during a conversation on the Hot Stove show.
After his strong spring, Young hit just .235 with one home run in his first 27 games with Arkansas.
“I had a pretty good spring. I hit a few home runs. So I thought I could hit a lot more home runs last year going into this year, and then the first month I couldn’t hit anything,” he said. “I couldn’t do anything. And I kind of had to sit back and be like, “Okay, this isn’t working. I need to change something. “
Young decided he needed to forgo selling power, take a more utility approach, and lean into the at-bat and on-base skills that have helped him become one of the organization’s prized prospects.
The decision began to pay off. Young’s batting average dipped to .253 by the end of July, but the last 1 1/2 months of the season is when he really took off. He batted .312 over the last 38 games, including a four-game hitting streak in August.
“I didn’t really fully commit to that approach until say August, and it shows in the stats,” Young said.
Young credited conversations with his father for helping his late-season surge.
“He watches all the games and helps me. So we … got on the phone and came up with a plan,” Young said. “He pretty much said we need to go back to how you are in middle school and high school, which was just being a full-on hitter and getting on base.”
The changes were mostly mental, but there was an adjustment with his hands dropping to help hit pieces from the outside of the plate.
“He’s just good at hitting singles to the left side and not trying to hit deep fly balls,” Young said.
Young finished his season at Arkansas with a .271/.369/.390 Slash Line, 25 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 57 RBI, 23 stolen bases, 67 walks and 87 strikeouts in 124 games.
The 21-year-old is the Mariners’ second-ranked prospect and No. 56 overall, according to Baseball America. Of the talented group of minor league hitters in Seattle’s system, he is thought to be the closest to the majors and has a viable path to playing time this season.
Young, 2022 first rounder from North Allegheny High School in Wexford, Pa., hopes to build on his strong finish in 2024. in his second spring training with the big league club.
“I’d say just keep doing what I’m doing,” Young said of his mindset entering the spring. “I don’t think I really need to change anything really. I’ve worked on the things I need to work on and I know what mindset will help me succeed in games and things. So I’m not going to try to go into the spring and be a different player. I know what works for me and I will continue to do it. “
Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to the Hot Stove show on Tuesdays from 7-9 p.m. At the start of spring training.
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