FanGraphs makes a brave decision to not sanction Mariners' Kade Anderson hype

Being in the baseball spotlight isn't a new thing for Kade Anderson. He helped lead LSU to their eighth College World Series win as the team's ace in 2025, posting a 3.18 ERA over 119 innings. Unlike some other top selections, the southpaw didn't make his professional debut the same year he was drafted, but that doesn't mean the Mariners don't think he's ready.

In fact, they're even more excited about him now than during the draft given what he has been able to demonstrate so far in Spring Training. At the moment, he's expected to start the year off in High-A but should be in Double-A soon. According to MLB Pipeline, he's Seattle's No. 2 prospect and the No. 21 overall prospect, but not all evaluators are quite as optimistic about his profile.

FanGraphs ranks Kade Anderson as baseball's No. 50 prospect, lower than other publications

Between MLB Pipeline, ESPN, Baseball America, and The Athletic, Anderson can be found ranked anywhere from the No. 16 to No. 28 prospect in baseball, a decent amount higher than where FanGraphs ranked him in their list of Top 100 prospects.

They had plenty of good things to say about him, noting that his fastball is far more effective than a typical heater in the mid-90s thanks to tricky arm action and exceptional vertical ride. His secondary offerings are also strong, especially his slider which landed for a strike 70 percent of the time last year.

However, a major concern is his ability to locate his pitches. He was described as a "control-over-command" pitcher, meaning he can throw strikes when needed but he struggles to dot up precise locations. So far, his stuff has allowed him to skate by but when facing higher-level opposition in the batter's box, leaving sliders up in the zone and fastballs down could be a recipe for disaster. Nonetheless, FanGraphs has him labeled as a possible mid-rotation starter with the potential to debut this year.

To be clear, No. 50 is by no means a bearish stance on Anderson. The gap between prospects tends to shrink the further you go down the rankings, so the difference between the No. 25 guy and the No. 50 guy may be smaller than the difference between the No. 1 and No. 5 guy.

With so much excitement surrounding him and the rest of the Mariners rotation, it can feel sobering to see a contrasting opinion on Seattle's first-round pick. However, some level of uncertainty is expected for a player who pitched just 157.1 college innings. FanGraphs looks like it's going against the grain, but what's more likely is that they're looking for more innings and data before giving Anderson their complete co-sign.

Given how they handled his workload after the draft, it's clear that the Mariners aren't intent on rushing him through his development. But even if others don't share the organization's enthusiasm, they seem to have strong conviction that they've got yet another ace on their hands.