By Paul L. Taylor Posted on

Mariners prospect Kade Anderson makes an immediate impression

The Mariners know they are onto a good thing with Kade Anderson and he wasted no time showing why in his first spring training start.

Kade Anderson has experienced a meteoric rise in his baseball reputation, ever since returning from the Tommy John surgery which had caused him to miss his first year at LSU in 2023. Now, the Seattle Mariners stand to benefit after having the good fortunate to move up to third spot in last year’s draft, courtesy of the lottery draft.

Anderson stunned a lot of experts, when he developed into the best pitching prospect in baseball during his draft-eligible sophomore campaign with LSU in 2025. He was quite simply outstanding as he went 12-1 in 19 starts, led the NCAA with 180 strikeouts and produced a 3.18 ERA and 1.059 WHIP in 119.0 combined innings of action.

Best of all, the lefty was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player, after helping lead LSU to their eighth national title. It became a no-brainer for the Mariners to select him with the third overall pick, as the best pitching prospect in the 2025 class and arguably the top overall talent in the draft.

Mariners fans had to be patient, as the team decided to shut Anderson down for the remainder of 2025 due to the heavy workload he had already endured that year. The thinking was for him to also work with the performance staff, in order to add weight and build up his strength.

Already a star in the Mariners farm system

It speaks volumes about Anderson’s talent, that MLB Pipeline rated him as the Mariners’ number two prospect in a stacked farm system and 21st overall in their preseason top 100 prospect rankings. In addition, his form since arriving at his first spring training camp in Peoria already has some media analysts saying they wouldn’t be surprised if he actually made his Major League debut some time later on this year.

While this remains to be seen, it doesn’t change the fact that Anderson is well ahead of schedule, made even more impressive that it has taken place before even making his professional debut. That hugely anticipated debut finally came on Saturday afternoon in Peoria, versus the San Diego Padres.

In keeping with the Slidell, Louisiana native’s heady rise, he came out firing in the first inning against the Padres as he struck out the very first batter he faced on just three pitches. He did allow a single and a walk, but recorded two more Ks to end the half inning.

The second inning went less smoothly for Anderson, as he was pulled after giving up a single and a double without registering any outs. He subsequently had two earned runs charged to him due to Houston Roth struggling, but overall he showed enough on the day to further boost his ascending reputation.

Anderson threw 30 pitches during his one+ inning of action, including 13 four-seamers, six changeups and sliders, along with five curveballs. He averaged 93.8 mph on his fastball and even though his command was wayward at times, he still managed to produce eight whiffs.

Kade Anderson is just a regular “Joe Cool”

Postgame, Anderson’s mental approach opened a window into at least partly explaining why he has been able to come so far so quickly. Speaking to the media, he said:

“It’s just another game for me. And when you have that mindset, it makes it a lot easier on yourself. You don’t have as much nerves. … It just comes with experience. Also, when you see the other starters, they’re just so calm. When you’re calm out there, it just makes life a lot easier on you.”

Anderson was asked for his personal assessment of what he liked and didn’t like about his outing. He said:

“I thought first inning I was attacking more than I was in the second. I walked a guy – I’m not a fan of those. Besides that, I just like to compete. … A couple of balls didn’t roll the right away, but that’s baseball for you.”

The 21-year-old also discussed what helps his fastball be so effective, despite it being a little lower in velocity than a lot of people might expect. He said:

“I think just having four pitches for strikes. I’m not the below guy everyone might think I am. I’m more of a pitcher. Having four pitches, I can throw any talent. It really helps.

Dan Wilson gives his take on Kade Anderson’s debut

Mariners manager Dan Wilson was also asked to assess Anderson’s spring training debut, and he was encouraged by what he saw. Wilson said:

“It was really good to see Kade out there. The first inning obviously striking out the side, he looked pretty impressive. It was really good to see him compete like that. The second inning a little bit different. I think he wanted to attack the zone a little bit more, but outside of that I thought it was an outstanding first outing for him.”

It’s early days of course, but this latest step in Anderson’s progress will only fuel the optimism surrounding him, with fans eager to see him pitch again soon. It will be interesting to watch his development in the coming months, but rest assured no matter what happens, his “Joe Cool” demeanor will help him take it all calmly in his stride.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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