Mariners' Top Pitching Prospect Dazzles Early in Spring Training

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The Seattle Mariners' top pitching prospect, Kade Anderson, has been impressing in early spring training with his performance against major league hitters. Anderson, a 21-year-old left-hander, recorded strikeouts of several notable Mariners players, including Randy Arozarena, Dominic Canzone, and Miles Mastrobuoni. While Anderson has yet to pitch in the minor leagues, these early spring training showings have Mariners fans excited about his potential and future with the team.

Why it matters

The Mariners already have one of the best starting pitching rotations in baseball, and Anderson's early success could mean he could join that group sooner than expected. However, the team will likely take a cautious approach with his development, given his lack of professional experience.

The details

In Saturday's spring training live at-bats, Anderson struck out Arozarena, Canzone, and Mastrobuoni, and also got Raleigh to pop up a 3-0 fastball. Anderson was the third-overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft and has yet to pitch in the minors. While these are just early spring training performances, they have Mariners fans dreaming of a quick ascension for the young left-hander.

• On Saturday, Anderson put on his impressive spring training performance.

What’s next

With no minor league action on his résumé yet, it's extremely ambitious to expect Anderson to make it to the big leagues in 2026. The Mariners also have a starting rotation featuring Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo, George Kirby, and Luis Castillo, so they most likely won't be in the biggest rush to get Anderson to Seattle. But with a perfect storm of enough injuries happening and the 2025 first-round pick doing well in the minors, it's technically not totally out of the question.