Mariners calling up prized lefty Kade Anderson, will start Saturday against Cubs, AP source says

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Mariners left-hander Kade Anderson will be promoted from Double-A Arkansas to the major leagues to start Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the transaction was not official and the corresponding move to clear a roster spot for Anderson was not yet known.

Anderson, 22, is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and dominated the competition in his first minor league season. Anderson is 10-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 18 starts for Double-A Arkansas, striking out 135 batters and walking 13 across 93 1/3 innings.

The Mariners selected Anderson with the third pick in the 2025 MLB draft out of LSU. When he starts on Saturday, Anderson will become the first player from his draft class to make his Major League debut.

It is unclear yet if Anderson will be making a spot start to help Seattle form a six-man rotation or take the place of one of the Mariners’ five right-handed starting pitchers. In early August, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said Anderson would start his Major League career as a starter.

“We’re not going to put Kade in the bullpen,” Dipoto said. “He’s the best starting pitcher in the minor leagues.”

There is no obvious candidate for Anderson to replace. After the Mariners traded right-hander Luis Castillo to the Chicago White Sox ahead of the trade deadline , Seattle was still left with former All-Stars Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo, former first-round pick Emerson Hancock, George Kirby and Bryce Miller.

Woo, who was originally scheduled to start Saturday, left his last outing after 75 pitches due to shoulder soreness. But Woo has remained with the team since his most recent appearance.

Anderson, who will arrive in Seattle on Friday, joins the club at a time when it is in need of reinforcements.

The Mariners are 60-68 after the Milwaukee Brewers beat them 7-4 on Thursday. Seattle is 5-9 over its last 14 games, and sits four games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West. Earlier this week, the Brewers beat the Mariners 22-0 , which matched baseball’s modern-era record for the biggest shutout.

Seattle won the AL West and reached the AL Championship Series last season.

The Cubs, meanwhile, are 74-54 and hold the top Wild Card spot in the National League.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here