The 2026 Futures Game is set for July 12 in Philadelphia, and the Seattle Mariners are bringing a pairing that could steal the show. Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan both made the American League roster, giving the Mariners two of the most electric pitching prospects in the sport on the same stage.
Anderson joked that the AL selection was his “worst nightmare,” but the silver lining is obvious: Sloan will be right there with him. Depending on who you ask, one of them is the best pitching prospect in baseball.
MLB Pipeline has the left-handed Anderson at the top. Baseball America gives that nod to the right-handed Sloan.
Either way, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has plenty to brag about.
If the Futures Game gives us the kind of matchups that actually matter, there are a few to circle.
For Sloan, the fun starts with a possible showdown against Milwaukee shortstop Jesús Made. Made is widely viewed as the No. 1 position prospect in baseball, and he’s hitting .289 through 69 games with Double-A Biloxi.
He’s been even better lately, batting .314 in June with 14 strikeouts and eight walks in 95 plate appearances. Sloan and Made already crossed paths in a Spring Breakout game between Brewers and Mariners prospects in March, and Sloan won that battle by getting Made to pop out to Colt Emerson in the first inning.
Another appealing test for Sloan would be Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula. De Paula’s left-handed swing is a big part of why he’s considered the best outfield prospect in the league, and he’s hitting .322 at Double-A.
All 15 of his home runs have come against right-handers. He and Sloan have met several times in games between Arkansas and Tulsa, and De Paula is still searching for his first hit off him, going 0-for-2 with a walk.
Anderson’s possible matchups carry their own kind of juice. The 21-year-old has been absurd in his first pro season, giving up just nine earned runs in 13 starts for Double-A Arkansas. In 66.2 innings, he has 99 strikeouts, 37 hits allowed and 10 walks.
One obvious challenge would be Nationals shortstop Eli Willits, the player who was supposed to go No. 1 in the 2025 draft and the one who actually did. Willits has been a breakout force in his first full pro season, putting up a .932 OPS with 12 home runs and 37 stolen bases in 64 games between Single-A and High-A.
He’s a switch-hitter who has been stronger from the right side, batting .298 with a .968 OPS against lefties. Still, Anderson has been brutal on right-handed hitters, holding them to a .154 average.
The other matchup to watch for Anderson is another Brewers shortstop, Luis Peña. Milwaukee has two elite shortstop prospects, and Peña sits No. 18 overall on MLB Pipeline’s list thanks in large part to a right-handed bat that projects as an above-average major league hitter with power.
He has absolutely punished lefties, hitting .480 against them in 2024, .337 in 2025 and .429 so far in 2026. Peña already faced Anderson in the Spring Breakout game and flew out, and another meeting would be a classic strength-on-strength test.
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