Mariners' young lefty-righty pitching combo shines in Spring Training side session
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The Seattle Mariners boast one of Major League Baseball's best farm systems over the past several years, having produced established superstars like Julio Rodriguez and a new crop of young faces like Colt Emerson. The team has a bevy of position players on the way to The Show, but their pitching prodigies can't be overlooked, either.
Lefthander Kade Anderson, the team's first-round pick in 2025, led the Louisiana State Tigers to a National Championship before taking the Fall off to work on his development. He entered Spring Training with extra anticipation, as the 21-year-old has yet to throw a pitch in pro action. Even coming in with no experience, he showed confidence and impressed coaches and management
“Obviously, Kade hasn't thrown a professional pitch yet, and Ryan [Sloan] hasn’t pitched above A-ball, but you would never know it by watching the way they go about their business, how they command the ball, the consistency and repeating their stuff,” Mariners president Jerry Dipoto said. “I don't imagine either one of them is going to spend a heck of a lot of time in the high Minors.”
In his final collegiate season, Kade Anderson went 12-1, with a 3.18 ERA, and led all NCAA Division I hurlers with 190 strikeouts. He was impressive for the Tigers, and displayed big-league level stuff, even as a college competitor.
Trent Blank said that Ryan Sloan was up to 99 mph with his four-seamer during a live BP just now, and that he also threw a a two-seamer -- for the first time.
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) February 15, 2026
The slider that he K’d Randy Arozarena with had 20 inches of break. https://t.co/4MBH7p3hR3
Anderson, who came out of LSU as a rather lithe lefty, added 15 pounds of muscle during his time off, which should help his endurance and ability to be an innings-eater.
“It's never good enough, necessarily, in my eyes,” Anderson said. “Like, there's always a chance to grow. Obviously, I'm trying to put on as much weight as I can. I'm a skinnier guy, but I need all I can get.”
Ryan Sloan has taken huge strides forward
20-year-old righthanded starter Ryan Sloan was impressive in 2025, as he moved up the list of top prospects in the Mariners' system. He entered the season as the team's ninth-ranked prospect. In 21 starts for the Single A Modesto Nuts and high-A Everett AquaSox, Sloan went 2-4 with a 3.73 ERA and 90 strikeouts over 82 innings, and was named the franchise's Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Sloan credits the Seattle system and the information the staff provides him as a big reason why he's been on such a fast track to success.
“The Mariners do a really good job at giving you the confidence to throw your stuff in the zone,” Sloan said. “So at the end of the day, my stuff is above-average, so I'm just going to throw it down the middle, and in the long run, I'm going to be really good.”
While Sloan could essentially be in Triple-A ball not long after camp breaks, Anderson will most likely begin in Double-A. But as Jerry Dipoto mentioned, neither is expected to be a long-term project. It's almost a given that both of these quickly-rising pitchers will be competing for spots in the rotation by 2027.
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Ryan K Boman is a freelance writer and the author of the 2023 book, Pop Music & Peanut Butter: A Collection of Essays Looking at Life with Love & Laughter. His previous work has appeared at MSN, Heavy, the Miami Herald, Screen Rant, FanSided, and Yardbarker. Follow him on X @RyanKBoman