Anderson looked excellent in his first start for the Arkansas Travelers, and we spoke about it with Travs broadcaster Steven Davis on the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast.
Seattle Mariners top prospect Kade Anderson made his affiliated ball debut on Friday night, pitching for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers.
The No. 3 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft out of LSU, Anderson didn't pitch professionally after getting drafted, so seeing him at Double-A with no prior experience was certainly a bold move by the Mariners.
He rewarded their boldness, going four strong innings in his debut, giving up no runs and striking out six. He threw 43 of 59 pitches for strikes. He's ranked as the No. 23 prospect in baseball, per Baseball America.
On the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, we caught up with Travelers broadcaster Steven Davis to talk about Anderson's debut, Michael Arroyo's defense and the debut of another top prospect: Ryan Sloan.
Here's what he said on Anderson:
"We saw what you'd expect to see from Kade Anderson. Looking really good, keeping zeros on the board, punching guys out. You know, he's not perfect, there were some hits against him, he had traffic in all four innings he pitched. But you just don't find guys with his combination of things. He's got the stuff, he's got the poise, he's got the maturity. He's got everything you would want.
He's not intimidated when he goes to the mound facing anybody. The guys like that come along so rarely that it's fun to see him go out there, and it's going to be great to watch his, I don't even want to call it development, just watch where things progress for him this season and see how they go. Because it's never a straight line for anybody as a prospect in the minor leagues working their way to the majors. But he's got such a unique set of intangibles that he comes in with on top of the great stuff that it's going to be fascinating to see how he moves, where he moves, how quickly things go and what he does to take the next step forward, or next several steps even."
More on Anderson
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, and then was drafted No. 3 overall by the Mariners. He features a low-to-mid-90s fastball and multiple developed offspeed pitches.
Kade Anderson, LSU Baseball celebrates the 2025 College World Series championship with a ceremony at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. Wednesday, June 25, 2025. SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesHe went 1-1 with a 6.43 ERA in three Cactus League appearances - his first action since last June -- and he also pitched in the annual 'Spring Breakout Game.'
If things continue to progress for him and he stays healthy, he could be an option for the Mariners as early as this season.
Seattle is 4-7 on the young season and will play the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night at 5:05 p.m. PT.
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