The Mariners may still be grinding to stay above .500, but the real fireworks in the organization have been happening in the farm system, where Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan keep taking turns making the case that they’re the better prospect. Sunday’s Futures Game only poured gasoline on that argument.
Anderson got the start for the American League roster, a fitting nod for the top-ranked pitcher on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list. He wasted no time settling in, needing just 10 pitches to get through a scoreless first inning while allowing only a bloop single. The confidence was obvious, and it showed on the final out of the inning, when he signaled flyball and headed back to the dugout before the batter was even out of the box.
As strong as Anderson looked, Sloan may have been the one who really walked away with the spotlight. That’s saying something, too, because the Futures Game also included the Pirates’ top-rated prospect, Seth Hernandez. Keith Law of The Athletic was especially impressed with Sloan, who flashed five pitches in a scoreless fifth inning and allowed only a double.
The stuff was loud. Sloan’s four-seamer averaged 98.1 mph and touched 100, and his kick-change stood out as his second-best pitch.
His best moment came against Jesús Made, the No. 1 prospect in baseball. Even with a runner in scoring position, the 20-year-old got Made to fly out.
That kind of stage seems to suit Sloan. Pitch Profiler also came away with a glowing evaluation after breaking down his outing in detail, and the performance added more weight to Baseball America’s view of Sloan as the top pitching prospect in baseball.
This wasn’t a one-off, either. Sloan also drew the bulk of the attention in the late-March Spring Breakout game against the Brewers, when he dominated over three scoreless innings and went nine-up and nine-down against the best farm system in baseball.
Still, Anderson has been the more polished arm this season. He leads the minors with a 1.36 ERA and a 0.688 WHIP in 14 starts, which is remarkable for a pitcher in his first professional season. Sloan may have the higher ceiling, but Anderson looks closer to major-league ready, even though he was drafted a year later.
That naturally brings the conversation to the big leagues, and Anderson was asked about the possibility of a call-up this year. He kept his answer measured, saying: "My time will come.
… I don’t want to play this game for this season. I want to play this game for a long time."
There has also been discussion about the Mariners building a super bullpen for the stretch run, with both Anderson and Sloan potentially in line for callups at the beginning of September. At the same time, there’s a real case for patience, especially with Sloan, who has shown more peaks and valleys this season in Arkansas.
For Mariners fans, though, this is the kind of problem you want. Two premium arms, two different paths, and a future rotation that suddenly looks very secure. The debate over Anderson versus Sloan isn’t going away anytime soon, and that’s exactly what makes it so much fun.
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