Mariners select LSU pitcher with No. 3 pick in MLB draft
Published 8:30 am Monday, July 14, 2025
College baseball’s best pitcher is coming to the Emerald City.
The Seattle Mariners selected Louisiana State’s Kade Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2025 MLB First-Year Player Draft, a strikeout machine who carried the Tigers to last month’s College World Series title.
“It’s what you dream about,” Anderson told reporters on a video call Sunday night. “I just think everything happens for a reason.
“To be selected by the Mariners really means a lot.”
Seattle never expected the 21-year-old from Slidell, LA, to fall into their lap at No. 3, but the Mariners wound up with the top player on their board, adding another standout arm to an embarrassment of riches in their highly-touted farm system.
Baseball America’s 2025 College Pitcher of the Year went 12-1 with a 3.18 ERA (119 IP) with 180 strikeouts and 35 walks in 19 starts for LSU this spring. He threw a complete-game shutout in Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series over Coastal Carolina, allowing three hits with 10 strikeouts en route to being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
“He told us on a call a couple of months ago that his goal was to be the best pitcher in the country,” Scott Hunter, Mariners vice president of Amateur Scouting, said while smiling ear-to-ear in T-Mobile Park’s main interview room. “To get a kid with this kind of stuff, his kind of make-up, and that kind of drive is special for us.”
Anderson is the No. 2 overall prospect on MLB Pipeline’s annual draft rankings and the top college prospect. The 6-foot-2, 186-pounder notched 10+ strikeouts in 11 games for the Tigers, including a career-high 14 at Oklahoma on April 3, and led the nation with 180 strikeouts in 2025.
“When you get a pitcher that can command four pitches … and can touch 96 miles per hour on the 130th pitch of a big game, I think the sky’s the limit for guys like that,” Hunter said. “Obviously, it’s something that we believe in here … that’s where (we) said it’s going to be a match made in heaven.”
“I want to win a World Series,” Anderson said. “It’s as simple as that.
“I know what it takes.”
Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw and Yankees ace Max Fried are two of Anderson’s favorite lefties, though “it’s a lot more than just the pitcher” he appreciates. It’s the mentality.
“Guys like Derek Jeter,” he said. “I’ve been watching Cal Raleigh. He’s having a great season. Everyone’s a big leaguer for a reason. You can learn something from everyone.”
Seattle struck gold by landing the third overall pick in the MLB Draft Lottery at the Winter Meetings in December, a dozen-pick jump over their 15th-overall projection. Parity among top prospects brought uncertainty to the first round’s official order, though it was assumed Anderson would land with the Washington Nationals (No. 1 pick) or Los Angeles Angels (No. 2).
Washington took 17-year-old shortstop Eli Willits with the top pick, Los Angeles grabbed RHP Tyler Brenmer second, and the Mariners aren’t complaining.
Hunter’s best description of Anderson? A combination of Mariners rotation staples in George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, both former All-Stars.
“(Kade) wants to learn and wants to develop his pitches like Logan, and he’s kind of stoic like George is,” he said. “Just that silent competitor that may not say a whole lot, but when you talk to him, he says the right things.”
Anderson was the first of four Mariners selections on Day 1 of the MLB Draft, followed by:
C Luke Stevenson, No. 35 overall: Seattle’s Competitive Balance Round A pick, Stevenson started 58 of his 61 games behind the plate for the University of North Carolina this spring. The 20-year-old was named a Third-Team All-American by Perfect Game after hitting .251 with 19 home runs, 61 runs, and 58 RBI. His 59 walks led the ACC.
“I’m pumped,” Stevenson said, the No. 33 overall prospect per MLB.com. “This is an absolute dream come true. … I take a lot of pride in working with pitchers and getting to know them well.”
SS Nick Becker, No. 57 overall: The 18-year-old from Don Bosco Prep (NJ) hit .386 with 24 walks and 27 stolen bases this season, named New Jersey’s Gatorade 2025 Baseball Player of the Year. The University of Virginia commit enjoyed a 77-10 record and 1.251 OPS throughout his high school career, capturing two Non-Public Group A state titles in three seasons. Becker’s father, Jeff, played baseball at Duke University and with Cleveland’s minor league system from 2000-01.
RHP Griffin Hugus, No. 91 overall: The University of Miami gave the former reliever a starting role after transferring from Cincinnati this spring, and Hugus hasn’t looked back. The 21-year-old went 6-7 with a 4.16 ERA and struck out 151 batters in 48 appearances, topping out at 96 miles per hour with his fastball. Scouts believe Seattle’s third-rounder has the chance to command a four-pitch mix with a slider, curve, and changeup at the next level.
