PEORIA, Ariz. -- I saw a lot of good things over my five days at Seattle Mariners spring training, but one of the best things I saw were the live bullpen performances of top prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan. 

Both pitchers performed excellently on the mound. Anderson, the first-round pick in 2025, consistently hit the mid-90s with his fastball, flashed solid secondaries and struck out the likes of Cal Raleigh, Rob Refsynder, Julio Rodriguez and Mitch Garver.

The next day Sloan, a second-round pick in 2024, wowed with his upper-90s fastball velocity and a sharp slider that fanned Garver.

Anderson has never thrown a professional pitch, but he showed the poise of a longtime veteran. He even drew the praise of veteran Rob Refsnyder in a media session on Monday. Sloan has pitched just one professional season, barely reaching High-A ball, but both pitchers give Mariners fans permission to dream because of the talent they possess. Permission to dream about the organization's ability to recreate the kind of pitching success they have had with homegrown talents like Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo. 

While "nasty" is probably the optimum word to describe the pair on the mound, there's another word that comes to mind to describe them both: Polished.

Polished in their pitching approaches at young ages and polished in their interactions with the media. Polished in their mindsets.

Anderson attacked the heart of the Mariners order with no fear, and he spoke afterwards with a confidence that shows that he played in the baseball-rich Southeastern Conference (SEC) and starred in the College World Series.

Sloan showed poise and polish when he struggled to find his breaking ball early in his session but re-grouped to find a pair of nasty ones in an at-bat against Garver.

You can hear our full interviews with both players on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, but I also talked more about the polish on the episode:

"...again, the way he (Anderson) spoke to us, you could tell he pitched in the SEC. You could tell he played in the SEC Tournament. You could tell he played in the NCAA Tournament and the College World Series. He knows how to talk to the media. He knows how to handle himself on the mound. He knows how to keep his emotions in check. And he knows how to go right after guys."

And with those qualities in hand, there's a chance that Anderson will shoot through the Mariners system. I personally don't think he'll be up in the big leagues this season as long as the main rotation is healthy, but if things go haywire, it's absolutely possible that he helps the Mariners down the stretch in the way that Trey Yesavage helped the Toronto Blue Jays last season.

Both pitchers present that kind of upside and that kind of promise.

Dare to dream.

--Reliever Matt Brash hasn't appeared in a game yet as he's dealing with a dental issue. Wilson expects him to be out a few more days.

--The Mariners are going to be forced into some tough roster decisions this offseason, with Miles Mastrobuoni appearing to be at the center of it all.

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