Why top 2 Mariners’ pitching prospects have Cal’s attention

It’s a pretty good sign when your team with World Series aspirations has prospects stealing attention at spring training. And the Seattle Mariners, who are coming off an American League Championship Series appearance in 2025, have no shortage of that right now.

Mariners’ Julio Rodríguez: ALCS loss ‘made this team hungrier’

Look one direction, and you’ll see Seattle’s top overall prospect, infielder Colt Emerson, making a push to break camp with the big league squad.

Look another, and you may find another highly-ranked infield prospect, Michael Arroyo, stealing headlines with some early spring success.

And believe it or not, there’s even more buzz this spring about the top two pitchers in Seattle’s farm system.

The obvious name there is Kade Anderson, who Seattle made the No. 3 overall pick in the MLB Draft last year after he led LSU to a national championship. The left-hander is the No. 21 overall prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline, and there’s been speculation ever since he was drafted that he could be in the big leagues as soon as this year.

But Anderson isn’t alone as a pitching prospect turning heads in Mariners camp. There’s also right-hander Ryan Sloan, a second-round pick in 2024 who is the No. 33 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline.

Anderson and Sloan have dazzled with their performances throwing live batting practice sessions against Mariners hitters, and they have raised some eyebrows – in a good way – with their comments about their pitching mentalities.

If you’re really looking for an impressive vote of confidence for the young duo, look no further than M’s star catcher Cal Raleigh.

On Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk this week, Raleigh shared some high praise for the pair – as well as the Mariners’ player development team under president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto – when asked about Anderson and Sloan.

“I told Jerry the other day, I was like, you’ve done a really good job with what you guys have done here on the farm in just a short amount of time,” Raleigh said. “I mean, obviously you can start with those two guys on the mound.”

Cal Raleigh shared some insight on the young #Mariners pitching prospects Kade Anderson & Ryan Sloan w/ @BrockHuard & @TheMikeSalk. 🎯

(Full 📺: https://t.co/VIH0Vp8glm) https://t.co/43kCQ3x5Bk pic.twitter.com/BT1wMe0tus

— Seattle Sports (@SeattleSports) February 26, 2026

Having both caught Anderson and Sloan and faced them as a hitter, Raleigh said he’s impressed that their pitching ability goes beyond just throwing hard.

“I think what’s really impressive, because I’ve caught them a little bit and I’ve hit off them now, they can actually move the ball around,” Raleigh said. “They’re not just mindlessly throwing it down the middle of the zone and hoping that it gets there. Like, they actually know what they’re doing. They can get the ball to certain places. That’s a big (indication) of, like, alright, this guy’s going to be able to do it for a long time. Like, you can see it’s gonna be there for sure.”

Hear the full Brock and Salk conversation with Mariners All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh in the podcast at this link or in the player below. Catch Brock and Salk, which airs from 6-10 a.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports app, live from Mariners spring training all this week.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• How Logan Gilbert is tinkering with his pitch arsenal
• M’s Notebook: Brash feels his best since ’24 Tommy John surgery
• What Brendan Donovan brings to Mariners’ leadoff spot
• Josh Naylor shows friendly side by greeting history-making umpire
• The roster spots up for grabs in Seattle Mariners camp

Related

Ex-Mariners OF Kelenic signs minor league deal with YankeesMariners fall to Blue Jays 4-3 in Kade Anderson’s 2nd startMariners Notebook: The latest on Hancock and DonovanWhat Bryce Miller said about move to Mariners’ bullpenKade Anderson on debut: ‘I had my D+ stuff’Cease, 3 homers lead Blue Jays to 8-1 win over Mariners