Kade Anderson Looks Like the Mariners’ Next Pitching Win

Ahead of last year’s MLB draft, the Seattle Mariners were in a fascinating situation. With the third pick, they were likely going to land one of the top talents in the class, although it wasn’t certain who that would be.

With the Washington Nationals seemingly undecided up until the very moment they made their selection, and the ever-fascinating Los Angeles Angels remaining unpredictable, many scenarios could net the club an exciting talent.

However, the Mariners ended up making out much better than they likely hoped, as left-hander Kade Anderson slipped to them at third overall. Without hesitation, they submitted their pick, officially making the LSU standout part of their future core.

With some speculating that Anderson was the clear best prospect in this class, this couldn’t have been a more exciting result for the Mariners. The former National Champion was coming to the Pacific Northwest, and it was a dream pairing.

Fast forward nearly a year later, and Anderson has begun his professional career in exciting fashion. He’s dominated nearly every outing he’s thrown in the minor leagues, which is even more impressive when you realize that Anderson immediately made the jump to Double-A, skipping the lower minors altogether.

Even though it may be early, Anderson is looking like yet another win for the Mariners’ pitching development.

Anderson’s Early Success

As mentioned in the introduction, Anderson has made the difficult jump straight to Double-A, skipping the lower minors entirely. This makes his early success even more impressive, as he’s handled this transition with ease, a challenge that most prospects would struggle with.

So far, through four starts, Anderson has pitched to a 0.48 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP, and he’s struck out an astounding 30 batters in just 18.2 innings pitched. Opponents are currently hitting just .143 against him, as they’ve struggled to do nearly any real damage against the first-rounder.

Anderson’s impressive numbers don’t end there, either. In addition to his 30 strikeouts, he has only allowed 13 baserunners through this span, which is a truly mind-boggling metric. Just four of these baserunners have come by free passes, and only one of them has come around to score.

For reference, that puts Anderson’s left-on-base rate at nearly 93%. Considering the MLB average left-on-base rate is around 70%, I’d say this is pretty good.

Another important takeaway from Anderson’s early success is that he has yet to allow a home run, which really speaks to how he’s limited any type of significant damage. Generating a groundball rate just south of 60%, Anderson is inducing soft-contact, which is a trait that’ll be incredibly helpful as he climbs through the system.

While Anderson is dominating both lefties and righties, his success as a reverse-splits arm has been pretty interesting as well. Left-handers are hitting just .109 against him with a .293 OPS to this point, as opposed to righties who’ve hit .235 with a .551 OPS. In addition to this, 25 of his 30 strikeouts have come from right-handers.

With how sharp Anderson has looked up until this point, he’s pitching himself into discussions as the next top pitching prospect in the sport.

Currently ranked as the eighth-best pitching prospect on our Top 100 (No. 26 overall), it’s not a stretch to say he’ll see a significant bump on the next list. Especially considering many of the players above him are nearing graduation, his path to the top becomes even easier.

Seattle’s Encouraging Track Record

Ever since the late 2010s, the Seattle Mariners have become a pitching factory. They’ve churned out All-Star arms such as Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Bryan Woo, with the majority of their pitching staff comprising homegrown talent.

Particularly, the Mariners have done a good job at developing pitchers with clean mechanics, good fastballs, and multiple potential plus secondary offerings. This is a mold that Kade Anderson matches almost perfectly, which leads to even more confidence that he’s going to develop quite nicely in their system.

Although he may not be a left-hander, arguably the best example of the Mariners developing a pitcher like this into a star is Woo. Anderson and Woo both share a lot of similar qualities, with the only real difference being their handedness.

Take their mechanics, for example. While their actual motions are unique from one another, the common element here is that they’re very repeatable, smooth deliveries. Without much to worry about mechanically, the Mariners are able to focus their energy elsewhere, particularly on refining the rest of their arsenals.

At the top of their arsenals, both of these pitchers possess fastballs that compare well. While both lack truly elite velocity, they’re able to touch the upper-90s with decent shape, which helps them get plenty of whiffs.

While Woo doesn’t possess a plus changeup like Anderson, they both share a slider with a similar shape. This pitch is a key quality that makes these two arms play so similarly, as they’re both able to use it off their fastballs to increase the number of whiffs this pitch gets, while also confidently getting chases with it as well.

The ability to tunnel their pitches well is something that separates both Woo and Anderson from the rest of the pack. Not only do they have arsenals that allow for this, but their easy, repeatable mechanics help each pitch look even more similar.

While different, Woo and Anderson are two very similar arms for the Mariners. If Woo’s development path tells us anything, it’s that the Mariners do well when it comes to developing arms of this nature. With Anderson already flashing well-above-average stuff in Double-A, the sky is the limit on his potential.

How Much Upside Does Anderson Possess?

After seeing Anderson’s early success in Double-A and the similarities he has with other arms the Mariners have developed well, we’re left with one question: How much upside does Anderson possess?

In all honesty, Anderson has a legitimate chance to be an ace-caliber arm at the next level. With multiple of his pitches flashing plus potential this season in Double-A, he’s in a very good position moving forward. Beginning your career in Double-A is difficult, but succeeding while doing so is even more exciting.

In his write-up for Anderson on our latest top prospects list, Aram Leighton said: “Everything about Anderson’s game screams high-floor, but there’s plenty to dream on too.”

This is the perfect way to describe his game. At his best, Anderson could end up as one of the strongest lefties in the game, but even if he doesn’t reach this potential, he could easily be an MLB back-end starter for years to come.

As it stands, Anderson’s main competition to be regarded as the next top pitching prospect in the sport is Pirates right-hander Seth Hernandez. While it may be a tough battle for the top spot, the fact that Anderson is throwing at such a high level may give him a boost.

Regardless of where he ends up on our next Top 100 Prospects list, Anderson is showing plenty of exciting signs early in his career. He looks to be a can’t-miss arm, and it won’t be long before he’s impacting games for the Seattle Mariners in the big leagues.