Kade Anderson is already crushing expectations in first Mariners spring training

Kade Anderson is not going to be part of the Seattle Mariners' Opening Day rotation. You can count on that much, as even a tidal wave of injuries isn't likely to convince the organization that he can skip the minor leagues entirely.

Indeed, it's only in the last few days that Anderson has thrown his first pitches in his first spring training as a Mariner. And we're not exactly talking game action here. With the Cactus League not yet in full swing, the 21-year-old southpaw has only thrown a bullpen and a live batting practice.

And yet, that sound you hear coming from Peoria, Arizona is everyone raving about Anderson.

Kade Anderson is blowing everyone away in Mariners spring training, and not just figuratively

Given that he basically took the rest of 2025 off after the Mariners drafted him No. 3 out of LSU last July, there were always going to be a lot of eyes on Anderson this spring. And unless he really soiled the proverbial bed, he was never going to get bad reviews.

Even so, you know an organization is high on a guy when a 2-0 changeup to Cal Raleigh in a live BP setting has one coach professing his love.

That's one tidbit among many from a report on Anderson's live BP session from Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, who was also on hand to film the lefty as he fanned Miles Mastrobuoni, Randy Arozarena and Dominic Canzone in succession.

Even before he stepped on a mound this spring, Anderson might as well have walked around with a "Mission Accomplished" sign hanging around his neck. He didn't pitch in the pros last year because the Mariners wanted him to focus on recovering and getting stronger. He had just pitched 119.0 innings for the LSU Tigers, and he only had 175 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame at the time.

As such, these words from Jerry Dipoto to Divish should raise some eyebrows:

"The biggest key for Kade was his offseason in the weight room, putting on a little bit of weight. And I think the reason why you would even consider that he would have a tough time holding the velocity or maintaining the innings. It’s pretty slender, but he worked his tail off in the offseason. He put on I would say somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds in really good weight. And it’s the first thing you notice when you see him — until he gets on the mound, and then you notice other things that are really interesting."

Jerry Dipoto

The quality of Anderson's pitches is a big reason why MLB Pipeline ranks him as the league's No. 21 prospect. He gets above-average grades for all four of his pitches, and that's without knowledge of his offseason weight gain factored in. To wit, a fastball that sat 92-94 in college may have a little extra now.

Meanwhile, the Mariners are getting a better sense of Anderson's competitiveness. The 2-0 changeup to Raleigh was enough of a tip in this regard. That he missed his location and was annoyed enough to take a little walk around the mound was another.

“He was pitching like it was a start in June,” Dipoto said, per Divish.

It seems fair to say that Anderson is not only meeting whatever expectations the Mariners had for him, but surpassing them. Which is saying a lot, as some of the calls for him to move quickly to the majors were coming from inside the house.

If the Mariners follow the same path they took with Jurrangelo Cijntje after they drafted him 15th overall in 2024, then Anderson will open 2026 with High-A Everett. And whereas Cijntje needed until August to get bumped to Double-A Arkansas, Anderson could conceivably end up on a Trey Yesavage timeline: Double-A by June, Triple-A by August and the majors by September.

That's obviously the best-case scenario, and the final outcome will hinge on whether the Mariners even have an opening for him. They're pretty good at keeping their pitchers healthy, as even a steady stream of injuries didn't prevent the quintet of Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Luis Castillo and Bryce Miller from taking most of the team's starts in 2025.

Either way, though, all Anderson can do is hold up his end of the bargain. And to this end, he's practically begging the Mariners for more boxes to check.