Kade Anderson, drafted No. 3 out of LSU in 2025, is set to make his professional debut.
The Seattle Mariners made a major announcement regarding top prospect Kade Anderson on Thursday, saying that the talented left-hander will start Saturday's Cactus League contest against the San Diego Padres at the Peoria Sports Complex.
Anderson, drafted No. 3 out of LSU in 2025, has not pitched professionally yet, so this will mark a milestone for him. The team shut him down after he helped lead the Tigers to the College World Series title in 2025.
He'll be followed by Emerson Hancock, Randy Dobnak, Jhonathan Diaz and potentially others.
Anderson is ranked as the No. 21 prospect in the sport by MLB Pipeline, just ahead of teammate Ryan Sloan (No. 33). Both pitchers have impressed in live bullpen sessions on the Peoria backfields.
On Saturday, Anderson struck out the likes of Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, Mitch Garver and Rob Refsnyder, flashing a mid-90s fastball, good changeup and a breaking ball.
Anderson was asked about facing some of the M's best hitters, and was also asked about his willingness to pitch in the zone as opposed to shying away from contact.
Yeah. I think as a Mariner, that's what we do. We go right at guys, seeing what it's all about. And if you give up a hit, you go right back at them. I think that's the mentality we have.
At one point, Anderson also said he was "here to strike guys out," which should have M's fans fired up.
You can hear the full interview with Anderson, which appeared on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast for Feb. 23.
Also on the M's
--The newest edition of the podcast is also out, featuring a short interview from Cole Young and the media's first chance to hear from Rob Refsnyder, who was signed to a one-year deal this offseason.
--Earlier this week, we heard that the M's were reluctant to trade Young to the Arizona Diamondbacks this offseason in a trade for Ketel Marte. Are we buying that? We discuss a little more here.
--Mariners starters are making their first appearances of the spring this week. How should we evaluate their performances in these early outings? We got some insight earlier this week from Logan Gilbert, who pitched on Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He threw two scoreless innings, walking two and giving up a hit. The Mariners lost that game 3-0 at Camelback Ranch.
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