3 things Mariners should watch for in Kade Anderson's spring training debut

Since he went third overall in the 2025 draft, Seattle Mariners fans have been waiting patiently to finally see Kade Anderson in action. Mercifully, the wait will finally end when the left-hander takes the mound for his spring training debut on Saturday.

Anderson is set to face the San Diego Padres in a game that will start at 12:10 p.m. PT. Luckily, it's one of 16 Cactus League games that will be streaming for free via Mariners.TV or the MLB.TV app.

Anderson sat out the remainder of the 2025 minor league season, so this will functionally be his professional debut. Because he's MLB Pipeline's No. 21 prospect and is generally seen as someone who could move fast to the majors, it's a big deal.

As such, here are a few things to watch out for on Saturday.

3 things Mariners fans should keep an eye on while watching Kade Anderson on Saturday

1. Just how intense is he?

Though Anderson, 21, has yet to appear in an actual game, there's been a common theme of his bullpen sessions and live batting practices: he goes way too hard.

Seemingly everyone who has set eyes on the former LSU Tigers ace has noticed how competitive he is. It has shown up in a variety of ways, including changeups in fastball counts in live BP and little walks around the mound after missing a spot.

It would seem that the "no off switch" thing just is who he is, and it's exemplified in the quote of the spring for the Mariners: “Personally, I'm just here to strike out batters. It doesn't matter where I'm at. So just having that mindset of going after and attacking guys is what I'm here to do.”

2. What's his velocity like?

Contrary to seemingly every other modern pitching prospect, lighting up the radar gun isn't what Anderson is all about. Reports on his fastball generally have it sitting 92-94 mph and peaking at 97 mph.

Similar to Max Fried, though, Anderson's fastball has historically been hard to hit because of its shape. He also answered the call to get stronger after the draft last year, with Jerry Dipoto estimating that Anderson has gained between 15 and 20 pounds.

At least when it comes to beating hitters, more velocity is never a bad thing. Even if Anderson is out there sitting 93-95 mph on Saturday, the Mariners will have to like what they see.

3. Does he have an out pitch for right-handed batters?

When looking at different scouting reports on Anderson, some patterns emerge as to the quality of most of his individual pitches. Notably, the fastball, slider and curveball are generally well-regarded.

His changeup, however, seems more polarizing. While MLB Pipeline and Keith Law of The Athletic have it as a plus pitch, Baseball America only gives it a 45 on the 20-to-80 scale and FanGraphs implied a lack of confidence in it relative to his slider.

As pitchers generally need an offspeed pitch for matchups where the platoon advantage is not in their favor, it'll be interesting to see what Anderson does with his changeup against right-handed batters. How much he uses it and how effective it is are both questions to be answered.