Mariners promoting top pitching prospect Kade Anderson

Tim Booth, The Seattle Times on Aug 20, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MILWAUKEE — No more waiting. Kade Anderson is on his way to Seattle.

The Mariners’ top pitching prospect will be called up to start on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, a source confirmed to The Seattle Times on Thursday. ESPN first reported the move.

Anderson has dominated the Double-A level this season at Arkansas. The left-hander and first-round pick a year ago has posted a 1.06 ERA and struck out 135 in just 93 1/3 innings pitched in the Texas League.

The calls for the M’s to promote Anderson have grown louder and in the midst of the toughest part of their schedule, they have decided to give the 22-year-old a national stage with which to make his major league debut.

There really was nothing left for Anderson to prove in the minors. Last Friday, he extended his scoreless streak to 20 2/3 innings after throwing another 5 2/3 shutout innings for the Travelers. In 13 of his 18 starts this season, Anderson didn’t allow an earned run. He surrendered only 11 all season with five of those coming in one game back in May.

Anderson long surpassed the competition he was facing in Arkansas. Now, the competition is about to become significantly more challenging.

Anderson was the No. 3 overall selection of the 2025 draft and was considered a steal by the pitching-rich Mariners when he wasn’t taken at Nos. 1 or 2. The M’s already had Ryan Sloan coming up through the minors and adding Anderson was another piece to the already stocked lineup of arms developed through their system.

While they were teammates this season in Arkansas, the timeline for Anderson was always going to be slightly ahead of Sloan. Anderson is older and more experienced thanks to his time pitching in college at LSU.

Anderson was almost certain to be a September call up when rosters expanded, but the call arrived early.

His debut won’t be a soft landing. The Cubs are five games back in the NL Central but have a six-game lead in the wild-card standings. They will be playing in October, potentially as one of the favorites in the NL. They also have one of the NL MVP favorites — or the favorite — in center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

And it’s a national stage. Saturday’s game was long ago picked up by Fox for a national broadcast.