8/20/26
(Seattle, WA) 2026 has been about as rough of a season for the Seattle Mariners as any other team has had this season. A drastic drop-off in offensive production from guys like Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor has caused the Mariners to rely heavily on their starting pitching, which has been inconsistent this year. However, with the letdown of a season the Mariners remain in the race for both the AL West and a Wild Card spot.
With that being the case, the Mariners hit the emergency button after a series loss in Milwaukee and have called up their top prospect and the top pitching prospect in the sport in left-handed starter Kade Anderson. Jeff Passan broke the news on social media on Thursday afternoon.
Anderson was the #3 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of LSU and much like former Tiger Paul Skenes, has dominated in the minor leagues and flew up the prospect rankings after being drafted just 13 months ago. Anderson has pitched in only Double-A with the Arkansas Travelers but has not faced much adversity. The southpaw is 10-1 with Arkansas and has a 1.06 ERA in 93 1/3 innings while striking out 135 batters. Hitters are batting just .147 against Anderson who has walked just 13 batters this season.
Some prospect rankings have Kade Anderson as the #1 prospect in the sport but he is the unanimous top pitching prospect and a top 10 prospect in every single set of prospect rankings.
Kade Anderson is an imposing figure on the mound as the 22-year-old is 6’2 and is well advanced beyond his age in terms of pure stuff and control. His fastball is not overpowering and will sit in the low to mid 90s but he mixes that in with three other elite pitches. His slider and curveball can generate both whiffs and weak contact and he mixes in a changeup to keep right-handed bats off balance. All four pitches are elite and he has pinpoint control with all of them.
While he has never pitched above Double-A, there should not be much concern surrounding Kade Anderson with the Mariners organization practices surrounding pitching. The organization does not view Triple-A that much higher than Double-A, especially with the Pacific Coast League featuring very hitter friendly environments. Guys like Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller never pitched above Double-A before their call-ups and have developed into high level talents. Anderson will be latest and the first normal lefty in the Seattle rotation since Robbie Ray in 2023.
Kade Anderson will make his MLB debut on Saturday at 4:15pm when the Mariners host the Chicago Cubs in a Nationally Televised game on Fox.
It is currently unknown if the M’s are going back to a six-man rotation or if one of the current starters will see a move to the bullpen. We will update this story as more details emerge.