So, we have a lot of Kade Anderson to catch you up on. Let’s do that, then segue out of the intro paragraph and into what he did after the callup. He started this year as Itch’s 3rd best Mariners’ prospect behind Lazaro Montes and Colt Emerson, where he said, “The third overall pick in the 2025 draft, Kade Anderson went 12-and-1 for LSU as a sophomore, recording a 3.18 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with a whopping 180 strikeouts in 119 innings. Wielding a dominant and deceptive fastball alongside three plus off-speed pitches he can throw for strikes, Anderson was way too much for most college hitters. Seattle rested him after the draft, but he has the look of a fast mover who can help this team during its current contention cycle. Contention cycle also sounds like me fighting with myself to beat up Grey.” Umm, hmm, so then Itch’s midseason top 50 prospects for fantasy baseball saw Kade Anderson rise all the way up to 2nd overall, as he became everyone’s number one pitching prospect with the filth this year. Then he was called up, and I said, “Mariners’ Jerry Dipoto watching the giant clock that reads, “Rookie Eligibility Manipulation.” The big hand reads, “Service Time,” and the smaller hand reads, “Under 45 Days Active to Maintain Rookie Eligibility.” Dipoto remarks to his assistant, “Why didn’t they put ‘Under 45 Days Active to Maintain Rookie Eligibility’ on the big hand and ‘Service Time’ on the small hand?” The assistant says, “Hmm, I don’t know, sir, but I can contact the clockmaker if you want.” So, Kade Anderson was finally called up. First off, you gotta see Kade Anderson and the Watchmen’s Millennium Clock sitting on his shoulders:
That’s not a neck, that’s a flagpole. Every morning they send his head up to the top. Lilliputians free solo Kade’s neck like it’s El Capitan. Kade Anderson, are you wearing your Beaker Halloween costume already? So, it’s not just his hat that’s reached great heights. He has, too, in the minors. As a 21-year-old, he’s done all you can in the minors already. He could step into the Mariners’ rotation right now and likely be their number three. Kade Anderson threw 93 1/3 IP, 13 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, 1.06 ERA in the minors this year. I just chortled. He’s the best starting pitcher in the minors and should be rostered everywhere. He should’ve been up months ago. LFG, you giant Beaker!” And that’s me quoting me! So, what can we expect from Kade Anderson for 2027 fantasy baseball?
Man, why’d he have to get called up. I’m kidding. Sorta. But the helium did fart out of the balloon a little after the callup. Kade Anderson went 2-2/3.79/1.23/32 in 35 2/3 IP with a 8.1 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. Baseball is so hilarious. He went from a 13 K/9 to 8.1 K/9. The world’s longest what. A what with more A’s than on their active roster. A what that is spelled whut. Let’s look at some clips:
Kade Anderson (MLB No. 5) has 5 punchouts through four scoreless frames in his MLB debut!
@Mariners | @MsPlayerDev | @LSUbaseball https://t.co/ExiEVM1x8p
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 23, 2026
It’s impressive to get a hitter of Bregman’s quality swinging at a ball that’s roughly four feet off the plate. Here’s another:
Kade Anderson spins his best Major League start yet for the @Mariners:
6 IP
6 H
1 R
1 BB
5 K
10 swings-and-misses https://t.co/wPNq1XQtEZ— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 9, 2026
Corey Seager is no longer a good hitter, but Anderson makes him look frightfully awful. Okay, one final one:
MLB’s top pitching prospect Kade Anderson spins his best big league start yet for the @Mariners:
7 IP
3 H
0 R
0 BB
7 K
14 swings-and-misses https://t.co/hkF3kb3g4W— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 20, 2026
That’s in Coors, but, yeah, the Rockies are the Suckies. He freezes a lot of guys, though, with that curve. You see that with Hunter Goodman. The stuff looks filthy. This is real small sample stuff — that’s what she said derisively — but he had the second-highest rate of pitches swung at in the zone in September (76.7%, behind only Eduardo Rodriguez) and had the 23rd-lowest Contact rate (75.2%), so lots of pitches that hitters are going after, and not a ton of contact.
When you’re only looking at one month of a rookie pitcher’s performance, there’s more noise than anything. I’ve been doing this for years, but here’s another notable rookie pitcher’s numbers: 4.26 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 in 107 2/3 IP. Much worse numbers, and in a larger sample, and that’s Clayton Kershaw’s rookie year. So, none of this means anything. Kade Anderson can unlock something this year and be an ace, or he can struggle for another year. For the ace possibility, he’s easily draftable in all leagues. For 2027, I’ll give Kade Anderson projections of 9-9/3.54/1.13/161 in 149 IP with a chance for much more.
