Mariners prospects Anderson, Sloan lead AL Futures

Anderson’s remarkable 27 1/3 scoreless innings streak was snapped in the opening frame on Friday night, but he still managed to turn in another dominant performance. He’s recorded at least eight strikeouts in eight of his first 13 professional starts since being selected third overall in last year’s MLB Draft. He’s put together one of the best Double-A campaigns in recent memory with a microscopic 1.22 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 99/10 K/BB ratio across 66 2/3 innings. The 21-year-old southpaw has emerged as the top pitching prospect in baseball and should arrive in Seattle at some point later this summer following next month’s All-Star break. He’s a viable stash candidate in all fantasy formats based on his massive strikeout upside.

Arias made 25 starts at second over the course of 2024 and ’25, but he’d played shortstop exclusively this year. Arias has been highly impressive in hitting .301/.387/.549 as a 20-year-old in Double-A and is widely regarded as one of the league’s top 10 prospects. It still seems unlikely that he’ll be a factor in the majors this season, but it can’t be completely ruled out.

With Seattle transitioning to a six-man piggyback rotation schedule through next month’s All-Star break it doesn’t seem like Anderson, the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball, will factor into the club’s plans until later this summer. The 21-year-old, who was selected third overall in last year’s draft, has reeled off 27 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings and holds a microscopic 1.02 ERA across 61 2/3 innings through 12 starts at the Double-A level. He’s put together one of the most impressive professional debuts in recent memory. He’ll arrive in the majors at some point later this season and should make an immediate fantasy impact. Anderson is worth stashing away in all fantasy formats until further notice.

There’s a lot to unpack here. According to Mariners general manager Justin Hollander, it was a unanimous decision by all six starters — Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo — to move to a schedule where each pitcher will rotate through and have piggyback days. Ironically, the arrangement will begin with Castillo piggybacking out of the bullpen with Miller during Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox. The decision will have a significant fantasy impact simply by reducing the overall volume for each starter over the next few weeks. The unorthodox arrangement feels like a temporary stopgap solution until the arrival of top prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan later this summer ultimately forces Seattle to move on from at least one of their veteran arms.

The Mariners not only have six starters working right now deserving of rotation nods, but also arguably the best left-handed and right-handed pitching prospects in baseball in Anderson and Sloan. Anderson has been particularly impressive with a 1.13 ERA and 82/6 K/BB ERA in Double-A, but Sloan is a 20-year-old with three pitches that can miss bats and has flashed brilliance in the same league. Jude does note that both have a chance to pitch for Seattle later this summer, but for now, Double-A hitters are going to have a bad time when they face Arkansas.

This is getting ridiculous. Anderson lowered his ERA to a microscopic 1.29 mark across 49 innings over 10 starts this season by allowing just one baserunner and needing just 73 pitches (47 strikes) to navigate five nearly-perfect frames. He posted nine strikeouts for the third time in his last five starts. The 21-year-old southpaw, who was selected third overall in last year’s MLB Draft, is on the fast track to Seattle and figures to get his opportunity later this summer, especially if the club is in contention for a playoff spot. His arrival doesn’t feel imminent, but the Mariners might not be able to hold him off too much longer if he keeps this up.

Anderson’s dominant start to his professional career continued with another scoreless outing, lowering his ERA to a remarkable 1.43 across 44 innings through nine starts. He’s also compiled an eye-popping 67/7 K/BB ratio over that span. Pirates phenom Seth Hernandez may be the most intriguing long-term pitching prospect in the minors, but Anderson is several steps closer to the majors and could emerge as a meaningful fantasy contributor later this season. There’s even a scenario where Seattle deems him ready and promotes him directly to the big leagues, bypassing Triple-A Tacoma altogether, though that feels unlikely right now. Even so, he’s worth stashing in fantasy leagues given how quickly he could force the issue.

The hottest prospect in baseball this season, Arias recorded the first multi-homer performance of his professional career as part of a three-hit night where he raised his full-season batting average to a surreal .341 mark through 34 games. The 20-year-old fast-rising prodigy’s power breakthrough continues as he’s up to 10 round-trippers already after hitting just eight across 116 games last year. He’ll ascend to top-10 overall prospect status by midseason, if he isn’t there already.

Anderson carried a shutout into the sixth inning before coughing up a solo homer with two outs in the frame. He threw a whopping 49 of 75 pitches for strikes in his latest dominant outing. He’s topped eight strikeouts in four of his six starts to kick off his professional debut. The21-year-old southpaw, who was selected third overall in last year’s MLB Draft, continues to look like one of the top pitching prospects in the fantasy landscape with a sparkling 0.60 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 47/5 K/BB ratio across 30 innings. There’s a very real possibility he’s pitching in Seattle by the end of the year.

Anderson continues to rapidly cement his status as one of the top fantasy pitching prospects in the game with a microscopic 0.37 ERA and 38/4 K/BB ratio across 24 1/3 innings over five starts in his professional debut. The 21-year-old southpaw, who was the third-overall selection in last year’s MLB Draft, is on track to potentially join Seattle’s rotation by the end of the season and offers enough strikeout upside to envision an instant fantasy impact. He’ll likely spent some time at Triple-A Tacoma before reaching the majors, but it’s a realistic possibility that he reaches T-Mobile Park this summer.