MLB draft: Mariners select LSU lefty Kade Anderson with No. 3 pick

SEATTLE – The Mariners added an elite arm to their already loaded pitching stable Sunday by taking top-ranked lefty pitcher Kade Anderson with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft.

Anderson, a 6-foot-2 pitcher from LSU, was projected by many to go No. 1 overall to the Washington Nationals, but fell to Seattle after the Nationals took Oklahoma high schooler Eli Willits and the Los Angeles Angels went with righty pitcher Tyler Bremmer out of UC Santa Barbara with the second pick.

Anderson, who is seen as a possible future frontline starter, has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s that occasionally hits 97 mph, and his three breaking pitches have opened scouts’ eyes. He has a curveball that sits in the high 70s, a slider that sits in the mid-80s and has a lot of spin, and a mid-80s changeup that has emerged as a wipeout weapon.

As an organization that prides itself on drafting and developing top level pitchers, the Mariners were thrilled when Anderson fell into their lap.

“We weren’t sure if Kade would get to us this year, there’s a lot of mock drafts that had him one or two, but really exciting for the organization, getting a kid with this kind of ability that fits in our pitching culture,” Mariners scouting director Scott Hunter said. “Not only is he a great pitcher, mid-90s fastball with three now breaking balls and really knows how to use them, but it’s a winning pedigree, it’s a winning player. Extremely excited to put him in our culture of pitching programs.”

Anderson had a 12-1 record with a 3.18 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 119 innings for LSU this past season, with 35 walks and an NCAA-high 180 strikeouts. After leading the Tigers to the national championship, Anderson was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player by allowing just six hits and one earned run with 17 strikeouts in two starts.

Anderson threw a complete game shutout with just three hits allowed and 10 strikeouts on 130 pitches in his CWS Game 1 start against Coastal Carolina, the third pitcher to do so since 2003.

He struck out 10 or more batters on 11 separate occasions last season, including a 14-strikeout game against Oklahoma.

Anderson was ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the draft behind Stillwater, Oklahoma high schooler Ethan Holliday, and the top college player available. Anderson missed his senior year of high school after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but emerged as a name to watch for Seattle last fall with his strong freshman year.

“He told us on a call a couple months ago that his goal was to be the best pitcher in the country,” Hunter said. “To get a kid with this kind of stuff, this kind of makeup, and that kind of drive, is special for us.”

Anderson is just the latest in a long line of top college pitchers that Seattle has taken in the first round. The Mariners took Logan Gilbert out of Stetson University in the first round in 2018, selected George Kirby out of Elon University in 2019, Emerson Hancock out of Georgia in 2020, and took Jurrangelo Cijntje from Mississippi State in last year’s draft.

Hunter sees Anderson as a combination of a few different Mariners pitchers.

“He wants to learn, wants to develop his pitches like (Gilbert), and he’s kind of stoic like George is,” Hunter said. “Just that silent competitor that may not say a whole lot, but when you talk to him, he says the right things.”

While the draft got off to a bit of an unexpected start with Willits and Bremmer going off the board early, the choice was easy once the Mariners realized that Anderson would be theirs.

Many scouts, along with Hunter, see Anderson as close to big league ready now.

“When you get a pitcher that can command four pitches and they’re plus on our scale and can touch 96 miles per hour on the 130th pitch of the game, I think the sky’s the limit for guys like that,” Hunter said. ” Obviously it’s something that we believe in here in the control of the strike zone, attacking hitters and filling it up, … and don’t be afraid to use your stuff. That’s where we really kind of said ‘this is going to be a match made in heaven for what we do as an organization.’ ”

Seattle’s later added North Carolina catcher Luke Stevenson at No. 35 overall and high school shortstop Nick Becker 57th.