Buster Olney didn’t say anything outrageous about Colt Emerson. In a vacuum, “I’d be surprised if he’s not in the big leagues by May 15” is basically the most normal prediction you can make about a top-10-ish prospect who’s knocking on the door.
The problem is, Mariners fans have been living in a months-long hype machine where Opening Day has been treated like a real possibility. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com even framed it as “not out of the question,” and noted Emerson was essentially the storyline of camp.
So when an ESPN insider floats a mid-May ETA, it doesn’t just read like reasonable caution.