Scoring on Kade Anderson? That's been almost nearly impossible for more than a month.
The Mariners’ No. 2 prospect twirled another gem Friday night in what’s been a remarkable run with Double-A Arkansas in a 4-0 win over Frisco at Riders Field.
MLB’s No. 6 prospect attacked with his capable four-pitch mix as he struck out eight hitters in six innings, allowing just two hits in another scoreless start. Anderson now has five straight scoreless starts under his belt dating back to May 15, not having allowed a run over his past 27 2/3 innings of work. The southpaw dropped his ERA this season to a Minor League-leading 1.02 over 12 starts.
“He’s an absolute professional,” Arkansas manager Rich Thompson said. “Every single night he goes out to pitch, it’s a Kade Anderson pitching clinic. He’s got command of all his stuff. Four plus pitches in any count. That’s what makes him so difficult to hit. You never really know what you’re going to get.”
COMPLETE MARINERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Anderson is dealing to start his time in pro ball after Seattle selected him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 Draft out of LSU. While Double-A and the big leagues are a wide gap, to help contextualize just how stingy Anderson's run prevention has been, take a look at these four names: Jacob Degrom (2021 Mets, 0.50 ERA), Kris Medlen (2012 Braves, 0.97 ERA), Ubaldo Jiménez (2010 Rockies, 0.93 ERA) and Pedro Martínez (2000 Red Sox, 0.99 ERA) are the only hurlers to post sub-1.00 ERAs through their first 12 starts of a Major League season in the 21st century.
“You can really see that he pitched a lot of big games before he got to us with the Mariners,” Thompson explained of Anderson. “He’s pitched in some big stadiums and big situations. He’s not phased by that. His maturity on the mound is next level.”
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Seattle’s top arm in the system continues to fill up the zone with an eye-popping 90 strikeouts to just eight walks issued. Back to that MLB comparison again. Only four big league hurlers this century have logged 90 strikeouts or more with under 10 walks in their first 12 starts of the season: Tarik Skubal (2025 Tigers, 90/7), Clayon Kershaw (2016 Dodgers, 109/6), David Price (2014 Rays, 90/9) and Curt Schilling (2002 Diamondbacks, 123/8).
Anderson has put together this run despite opening his pro career in the upper Minors back in April.
“The maturity of who he is is the reason why he can handle this straight to Double-A job,” Thomson said. “He’s been prepared for this for many years. You don’t pitch at LSU on Friday nights in front of a whole bunch of people and not be able to handle a little bit of adversity. You can really tell that no situation is too big.”
Seattle already touts the third-best staff ERA (3.71) in the American League through play Friday. It appears even more nasty stuff is on the horizon.