Mariners SP prospect allegedly superior to Kade Anderson has quietly hit the skids

It wasn't exactly a surprise when it was announced that Ryan Sloan would start the season in Double-A. He carried an impressive prospect pedigree and lived up to the hype in his spring training debut, giving fans a tantalizing glimpse of Seattle's future rotation during the Spring Breakout game as well.

Ranked as the Mariners' No. 3 prospect and the No. 28 prospect overall — though he notably outranks fellow starting prospect Kade Anderson for one publication — Sloan was on track to debut in 2027, but his recent outings illustrate that he still has a lot to work on before then.

Ryan Sloan's first season in Double-A has gotten off to a shaky start

Last year, Sloan posted a respectable 3.73 ERA and 3.18 FIP across 82 minor league innings, the vast majority of which were spent in Single-A. This year, he has made three starts and is at a 6.52 ERA across 9.2 innings, showing regression in all of the usual places.

These numbers are indicative of a pitcher who is just a little less experienced than the hitters he's facing. Compared to Single-A, batters are likely chasing less, getting ahead in counts, and punishing pitches that are left over the plate.

In many ways, this is expected. The jump to Double-A is often seen as the biggest step up in competition and Sloan, who's just 20 years old, is more than four years younger than the average player at his level. This year will be an important one for his development and it's unrealistic to expect that he remains dominant on the mound for the entire year.

Furthermore, there are things that he's doing well. His FIP is still quite good on account of him giving up no home runs thus far and maintaining a decent strikeout rate. It is getting dragged down by the amount of free passes he has been giving up but walks are far less detrimental to the statistic than home runs. He has also shown flashes of being able to compete at the level. His second start was a step in the right direction, allowing just one earned run in four innings.

Even with this less-than-ideal start, Sloan is still ahead of schedule and with the core of their rotation under club control for a few more years, the Mariners have no reason to rush his development to fill a roster spot. He'll continue to improve his conditioning, refine his strategic approach, and deepen his arsenal before being called up. Whether it's in 2027 or 2028, rest assured that Sloan won't be coming to the big leagues until he's fully ready for the show.

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