Kade Anderson's MLB Pipeline debut reaffirms Mariners' massive draft steal

Something strange is going on in Seattle and by this, we mean that everything seems to be going well for the baseball team. Whether it be ownership fully supporting going all-in, the subsequent significant trade deadline additions, or the recent winning run moving the Mariners up to a tie for first place in the AL West, these are good times in the Pacific Northwest.

Heck, you can extend these good times back to the Mariners being able to select Kade Anderson with the third overall pick, even though he was arguably the top talent in this year's draft class and definitely the best available pitcher. And now, the narrative that the M's managed a massive draft steal has only been reinforced by MLB Pipeline's updated top 100 prospect rankings.

Compiled by MiLB.com and MLB.com reporter Sam Dykstra, it's a successful debut for Anderson in the prospect rankings with him being slotted right in at No. 22 overall. This puts him between the two players who were selected ahead of him in this year's draft, with first overall pick Eli Willits ranked at No. 18 and second pick Tyler Anderson being placed down at No. 96.

Kade Anderson is projected as the real deal by MLB Pipeline

It's also worth noting that Anderson is already the fourth-ranked pitcher in the minors behind Bubba Chandler, Andrew Painter, and Thomas White. Of additional interest to Mariners fans, specifically, is that Anderson has also been ranked No. 2 in the organization's top 30 prospects list behind just Colt Emerson.

As a result of the updated Mariners top 30 prospect rankings, Lazaro Montes, Harry Ford and Ryan Sloan all move down one place, to third, fourth and fifth, respectively. This tells you just how good Anderson is, combined with the quality of talent in the M's farm system, which Dykstra unofficially ranks best in the majors based on leading the way with nine top 100 prospects.

It's tough to argue where Anderson has been ranked, given everything he achieved during an outstanding 2025 season with the LSU Tigers. He went 12-1 in 19 starts, produced a 3.18 ERA and 1.059 WHIP, as well as leading the NCAA with 180 strikeouts all in 119.0 innings.

The southpaw wasn't finished there, however. He helped the LSU Tigers win the College World Series and was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player. As such, it really was no surprise when Baseball America gave him the accolade of 2025 College Pitcher of the Year.

Mariners fans will have to be patient for a little while

With all of this in mind, there's plenty of intrigue and excitement when it comes to a pitcher who is only going to get better and has the potential to be a future staff ace in the majors. However, fans will have to be patient about seeing Anderson actually play, at least for now.

As we recently wrote, the Mariners have a master plan in place for their latest pitching protégé, and this includes shutting him down for the remainder of this year. He has been officially assigned to the ACL Mariners to work with the performance staff on adding weight and putting on strength, to give him better endurance for his first season of pro ball.

As much as Mariners fans want to see Anderson pitch sooner than later, the organization's patient approach to managing him is the best for all concerned. These are good times for the M's and everything possibly is being done, to ensure they are here to stay for a long time to come.