On Saturday, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times put on social media that Seattle Mariners top prospect Kade Anderson is set to start his professional career at High-A Everett. It's unclear if that was an official report or just speculation based on Divish's general knowledge of how the organization typically does things.

However, a new report from Daniel Kramer of MLB.com indicates that Anderson is likely to start at Double-A Arkansas. 

A reminder: Anderson was drafted No. 3 overall in 2025 but did not pitch after getting drafted. His three Cactus League starts are his only taste of professional baseball so far, so an immediate Double-A placement would be quite the accomplishment.

From Kramer's report:

The next steps to his player development plan will likely include an assignment at Double-A Arkansas, which itself represents a big first step -- given that the Cactus slate was his first showing in pro ball altogether.

Why would the Mariners do this? Let's dive in.

Already ranked as the No. 21 prospect in baseball, Anderson threw 119 innings at LSU last season, striking out 180 batters. He helped the Tigers win the national championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. He features a low-to-mid-90s fastball and multiple developed offspeed pitches. 

He's gone 1-1 in those three Cactus League appearances with a 6.43 ERA. He's struck out nine batters in seven innings while walking three.

The Mariners could start Anderson in Double-A because he's just that advanced. He's already pitched in the SEC, he's already won in the SEC, and he's already won the College World Series. He's close to major league ready as it is, so what's the point in dallying down at High-A?

The Mariners could use him in the big leagues this season, and if that's the case, then they might as well expose him to better competition right away.

Anderson is a very valuable organizational commodity, and he needs to be protected. Starting him in the poor weather of Everett in April is not the best way to do that. Sure, the team could start him in the Single-A California League, but is protecting him worth not giving him a real challenge?

If it's not, then the weather and challenge in Arkansas are the perfect mesh point for his development.

I made the following comments on a recent 'Refuse to Lose' podcast:

"If you take his time at Cal-Poly and in the minors, Bryan Woo threw 170 innings. Bryan Woo played three years of college baseball...So three years of college and the minor leagues, Bryan Woo threw 170 innings before he got to the big leagues.

And the minute he got to the big leagues, he was good. Right? He wasn't great, but he was good, and he did it on 170 innings. Two years later, he turned into one of the best pitchers in the American League. 170 innings.

So far, Kade Anderson — two years of college at LSU — 157 innings. And those one 157 innings come in the SEC, come in the SEC tournament, the NCAA tournament, the College World Series. Kade Anderson's 157 innings come at better competition levels than Bryan Woo faced in college at Cal-Poly, and then probably for most of his minor league tenure as well.

So Bryan Woo, 170 innings, college and minors, up to the big leagues and pretty good instantly. Kade Anderson is already at 157.

Now, I would like to see him get seasoning at the minor leagues. I'd like to see how he does at Double-A consistently. But if you're going on the Bryan Woo timeline, Kade Anderson is really not that far away from us being able to think that he can come up here and make an impact, that he can come up here and make a difference.

Bryan Woo is proof that getting to the big leagues and being successful can be done without a ton of experience."

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