Kade Anderson's Pro Debut Was Everything the Mariners Hoped For
The Mariners' third overall pick from last summer's draft made his professional debut Friday night and did exactly what a top prospect is supposed to do: he looked like he belonged. Kade Anderson, a left-hander, took the mound for the Double-A Arkansas Travelers against the Midland RockHounds in Midland, Texas, and threw four scoreless innings with six strikeouts and just one walk. Five hits allowed, but here's the thing that matters: all of them were singles, and two didn't even leave the infield. He threw 59 pitches with 43 strikes. This is the kind of clean, efficient debut that gets prospect hitters talking.
The Anderson Watch Begins
Anderson is ranked No. 23 overall in Baseball America's Top 100 prospects and he's already making noise in the system. The fact that he posted 12 whiffs on 59 pitches tells you his stuff is legit. For context, the Mariners have five prospects in Baseball America's Top 100, and Anderson is right there in the mix alongside Ryan Sloan (No. 22), Lazaro Montes (No. 56), Colt Emerson (No. 7), and Michael Arroyo (No. 100). This organization is stacked with young arms and bats coming up through the system.
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Elsewhere in the minors, Colt Emerson had an RBI double in the first inning Friday night at Triple-A Tacoma against former Mariners lefty Marco Gonzales, who's pitching for the Padres' affiliate El Paso Chihuahuas. Gonzales allowed four runs with four strikeouts and no walks in five innings.
Back at the big league level, Cole Young, the 22-year-old second baseman, is the hottest hitter on the roster. Through the first eight games, Young led the team with a 0.8 Wins Above Replacement and sits at .310/.333/.552 with an .885 OPS in his first 30 plate appearances. He drove in the go-ahead run with a triple in the 10th inning Friday night in Anaheim. But the middle of the order is ice cold: Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, and Josh Naylor have combined to go 10 for 91 with no homers and 32 strikeouts through eight games. Raleigh leads the majors with 16 strikeouts entering this weekend.
The Mariners beat the Angels 3-1 Friday night, but they need their star hitters to wake up fast.
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