Kade Anderson will make his highly anticipated debut for the Mariners on Saturday

Kade Anderson. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kade Anderson will make his highly anticipated debut for the Mariners on Saturday

By Vanessa Serrao | Last updated Aug 20, 2026 8:49 PM ET

The Seattle Mariners are finally calling up top pitching prospect Kade Anderson, who will make his long-awaited debut on Saturday.

The 22-year-old southpaw has logged a 10-1 record with a 1.06 ERA across 18 starts with 135 strikeouts, 13 walks and 47 hits allowed with Double-A Arkansas this season.

Anderson was the third pick in the 2025 draft and was an NCAA champion at Louisiana State University.

Bryan Woo was originally slated to start for the Mariners on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, but Anderson will take his spot.

His call-up comes as the Mariners are looking to make a postseason push in a tight AL wild-card race and he's been more than deserving of a promotion following his dominant campaign in the minors.

Breaking: The Seattle Mariners plan to call up left-hander Kade Anderson, the top pitching prospect in baseball, to start Saturday, sources tell @JeffPassan.

Anderson, the third pick in the 2025 draft, has a 1.06 ERA over 93.1 innings with 135 strikeouts, 13 walks and 47 hits… pic.twitter.com/pekHkMXBo6
— ESPN (@espn) August 20, 2026

Kade Anderson's time has finally come for the Mariners

While the Mariners' rotation is full, it has recently undergone struggles by George Kirby, Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller. Kirby picked up his 10th loss of the season following a 7-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, which signaled the Mariners to call up their prized prospect.

Anderson leads the minors in ERA (1.06), WHIP (0.64), strikeout rate (40.5%) and opponents' batting average (.147), which makes him the perfect candidate to slip into the Mariners rotation.

Anderson ranks No. 6 in Baseball America's top 100 and owns a 36.6 K-BB% across 93.1 Innings in Double-A this season. You could argue that Anderson is one of the most elite pitching prospects since Paul Skenes.

The top ranked left-handed pitching prospect has surpassed expectations in his pro debut season and it will be exciting to see how he performs at the big league level.

Vanessa Serrao

Serrao is a freelance baseball writer who has covered all MLB teams, with particular expertise on the Toronto Blue Jays. She is a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.

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