The first day of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft gave us surprising picks and, for some, a chance to learn more about their team’s new players.
With the third overall pick, the Seattle Mariners selected left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson out of Louisiana State University. Anderson helped LSU win the 2025 National Championship, allowing one earned run in 16 innings during the College World Series.
As always, new draft picks often receive player comparisons from the media, and Anderson’s present-day comparison is one of high praise.
Anderson Compared to Yankees Ace
Max Fried has lived up to the expectations of the ace of the New York Yankees. With Gerrit Cole out for the year because of Tommy John Surgery, he’s become one of the American League’s frontrunners for this year’s American League Cy Young Award.
On Sunday, Bleacher Report’s Tim Kelly released his list of MLB Draft player comparisons. Fried and the Seattle Mariners’ draft pick, Anderson, share several similarities.
“Anderson has most consistently been compared to Max Fried. That makes sense since he’s a lefty that’s listed at 6-foot-2, 179 pounds,” wrote Kelly. “Fried is a couple inches taller at 6-foot-4, and weighs 190 pounds. Considering Anderson only just turned 21, he could wind up around the same weight as Fried.”
Aside from the resemblance in the two hurlers’ mechanics, Anderson should strive to post similar numbers as Fried, who is enjoying an excellent year in his age-30 season.
“Fried has been more of a 170-inning than 200-inning guy, but had an excellent eight-season run with the Atlanta Braves to begin his career that he parlayed into an eight-year, $218 million contract with the New York Yankees last offseason,” wrote Kelly. “In his first year in pinstripes, Fried is an All-Star for the third time in his career, with an MLB-best 11 wins.”
Mariners First Round Pitching Draft Picks
The Seattle Mariners own one of MLB’s best pitching staffs. A primary component is their recent success drafting pitchers in the first round, including Anderson on Sunday.
Since 2018, pitchers Seattle selected in the first round include Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Emerson Hancock. Switch-handed pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje began the year at High-A Everett, and Gilbert and Kirby are two of the AL’s better starting pitchers at their best.
The Mariners hope Anderson joins the likes of Kirby and Gilbert soon, but Kelly recognizes that he may not be as polished as former LSU Tigers star Paul Skenes.
“He’s not Skenes—no one is—but he was dominant in his second collegiate season, going 12-1 with a 3.18 ERA and a staggering 180 strikeouts over 119 innings,” wrote Kelly.
Kelly’s Fried comparison may be more on brand for Anderson’s pitch mix and skill set, featuring two breaking balls, a changeup, and a fastball that occasionally reaches 97 mph.
“If Anderson turns out to be like Fried, that would be a massive success for the Nationals, Los Angeles Angels, or any other club that selects him,” Kelly wrote before Sunday’s first round of the MLB Draft.
With still a few years to go before his MLB debut, Mariners fans can hope that Anderson’s progress in the minor leagues translates to the Major Leagues the same way Fried’s did.
Mariners Draft Pick Compared to Yankees’ Cy Young Candidate