MLB Draft 2025 Scouting Report For Kade Anderson to Mariners at Pick No. 3

With the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 draft, the Seattle Mariners selected left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson out of LSU.

Ahead is a closer look at what Anderson brings to the table as he starts his pro career, along with a highlight reel and a pro comparison to provide further context for what his future might hold.

Scouting Report

Born: 7/6/2004 (21 years old)
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 179 lbs

Stats: 19 GS, 12-1, 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 35 BB, 180 K, 119.0 IP

Kade Anderson took the mound for the final time in a LSU Tigers uniform in Game 1 of the College World Series final and put the finishing touches on a brilliant sophomore season by twirling a three-hit shutout and striking out 10 against Coastal Carolina.

The draft-eligible sophomore logged a 3.99 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 38.1 innings as a freshman while pitching behind a pair of eventual second-round picks in Gage Jump and Luke Holman in the LSU rotation, then stepped into the role of staff ace this spring.

He throws a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup, and all four pitches flash plus, with his fastball sitting in the mid-90s and touching 97 mph. His changeup lagged behind the other pitches as a freshman, but he showed a much better feel for it this spring.

That four-pitch arsenal, coupled with his advanced command and clean mechanics, gives him an extremely high floor and a level of pitchability that should allow him to move quickly through the minors.

He also has more physical projection remaining than most college pitchers, and another uptick in his stuff is not out of the question as he enters pro ball.

If there's a red flag, it's the fact that he has already had Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss his senior season of high school. That's far less of a concern than it would have been a decade ago, but still something worth considering when looking at his long-term outlook.

Highlights

Pro Comparison: Max Fried

With a deep arsenal of pitches and a similarly lanky-athletic frame from the left side, Max Fried might be what the best-case scenario looks like for Anderson a few years down the road.

Fried was drafted out of high school and took longer to develop, so Anderson is closer to a finished product than Fried was when he started his pro career, but they could end up at the same place in their respective primes.