Kade Anderson keeps putting up the kind of lines that make every other pitching stat look ordinary.
The Mariners’ top prospect turned in another shutout gem Friday night, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts as Double-A Arkansas dropped a 4-1 decision to Tulsa at ONEOK Field. It was the latest entry in a stretch that has turned into routine: Anderson has now strung together four straight scoreless starts and hasn’t allowed a run since July 3.
The 22-year-old was in control from the jump. He gave up just two singles and a walk, needed 79 pitches to get through his outing and threw 53 for strikes. Tulsa didn’t get a hit until a single with one out in the fourth, and by then Anderson had already worked through the heart of the order twice.
That included a pair of top Dodgers prospects in Josue De Paula and Mike Sirota. De Paula, listed as LAD No. 1 and MLB No. 6, and Sirota, LAD No. 2 and MLB No. 16, went a combined 0-for-5 against Anderson.
For the season, hitters have had almost no answers. Anderson has held opponents scoreless in 13 of his 18 starts and owns a 1.06 ERA, a 0.64 WHIP and a 135/13 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 93 1/3 innings.
All of those marks lead the Minors. So does his 40.5 percent strikeout rate, and opponents have managed only a .147 average and a .399 OPS against him while collecting just 13 extra-base hits.
That’s why his path to Seattle has become one of the biggest storylines in the organization. MLB’s No. 5 prospect has already been named Texas League Pitcher of the Week five times and represented the Mariners at last month’s All-Star Futures Game, and he’s only gotten sharper as the season has gone on.
Still, the numbers may not be the only thing that matters now. Anderson may have little left to prove at Double-A, but the Mariners could decide he needs one more stop before reaching the majors. The Louisiana-born left-hander is barely a year removed from college, and the club will have its own benchmarks to weigh before he gets to make his Emerald City debut.
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Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodrguez and Andrs Muoz have each become part of that equation for different reasons. Raleigh has not matched his offensive standard from a year ago, Rodrguez has kept producing at a steady level, and Muoz has had his share of late-game trouble as the closer. If the Mariners are going to make a real push in the division, the final weeks may hinge on which version of those three shows up most often. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Wilsons Future With Mariners May Hinge On Final Stretch
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The pressure now sits on the results in front of them, with the clubs performance in the coming weeks carrying obvious weight for Wilsons future. For a manager who has already shown he can lead this group deep into October, the late-season run is shaping up to be about more than just a postseason chase - it may end up defining the next chapter of his time in Seattle. [Read more 🡒]