Seattle Mariners Top Pitching Prospect Continues Incredible Season With Double-A Club

The past year has been an eventful one for Seattle Mariners top pitching prospect Kade Anderson.

Just weeks after leading the LSU Tigers to an NCAA College World Series championship (and being named the Series' Most Outstanding Player), Anderson was selected third overall in the 2025 MLB Draft by the Mariners.

After an entire summer, fall and winter of work with Seattle's player development staff down at the team's facility in Peoria, Ariz., Anderson received a non-roster invite to major league camp in spring training.

After three Cactus League starts and an impressive overall showing in his first taste of pro ball, Anderson (No. 17 MLB Pipeline) was assigned to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers.

So far, Anderson's stint with the Travelers has gone nearly as well as it could. For both him and the Mariners.

Anderson made his third start for Arkansas on Friday in a 5-4 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers' Double-A affiliate, the Tulsa Drillers.

Despite the loss, Anderson was nearly flawless against Tulsa. He struck out five batters, walked one and allowed one earned run on three hits in five innings pitched.

The run allowed by Anderson was his first this season.

In his trio of starts, Anderson's fanned 22 batters in 14 innings pitched. He's allowed eight hits, only one of which has been for extra bases — a double.

Anderson has a 0.86 WHIP across his three starts and is allowing an opposing batting average of just .163. He's issued just four free passes — all walks.

When Anderson was drafted, he was considered the most major league-ready pitcher available in the draft. Many analysts believed it wasn't out of the question for the former Tiger to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, Paul Skenes (drafted 2022, debuted 2023) or Trey Yesavage (drafted 2024, debuted 2025), as quick-rising pitchers.