The situation is getting dire for the Seattle Mariners as they find themselves three games back of the final AL wild-card spot heading into Thursday’s action. With their postseason hopes slipping away, the Mariners have finally called in reinforcements for the stretch run.
On Thursday, the Mariners made the call to promote left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson from Double-A Arkansas, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Anderson will be called upon to make Saturday’s start at home against the Chicago Cubs, with Seattle’s fading playoff chances on the line.
Anderson is the top prospect in Seattle’s system and the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline. The southpaw has dominated Double-A batters, posting a 10-1 record, with a 1.06 ERA, a 0.643 WHIP, and 135 strikeouts in 93.1 innings of work. Anderson led the LSU Tigers to an NCAA Championship in 2025, just two years after Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes led the Tigers to one in 2023.
The Mariners will likely run a six-man rotation once again. Seattle was down to five starters after they traded Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox at this year’s trade deadline. With several Mariners starters struggling this year, Seattle had little choice but to call up Anderson to try to salvage their season. Since June 1, the Mariners are an abysmal 29-39 and rank 25th in runs scored.
Whether Anderson can save the Mariners’ season or not isn’t yet clear. What is clear is that he had little more to prove at the Double-A level. The Mariners are one organization that rarely promotes their pitchers to Triple-A, but bypasses that level and promotes directly to the majors. The reason is that Triple-A Tacoma plays in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and the Mariners believe it is a poor environment to develop pitchers in.
The Mariners will begin a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday at home at T-Mobile Park. Emerson Hancock and Bryan Woo are also expected to pitch for the Mariners during the series against Chicago.
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