Kade Anderson and 5 young arms who could define the MLB postseason push

The Seattle Mariners are finally promoting top prospect Kade Anderson to the majors, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 draft, this is Anderson's first professional season. The talented left-hander put up a 1.06 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 135 strikeouts in 93.1 innings in Double-A, where he made 18 starts.

Anderson is FanSided's No. 5-ranked MLB prospect and the second-ranked pitching prospect, behind Pittsburgh right-hander Seth Hernandez, who was picked three spots after Anderson last July. The Mariners, still locked in a competitive AL Wild Card hunt, sped Anderson through the minors and now hope he can move the needle in their race to October. Let's dive into Anderson and four young pitchers who could leave an outsized mark on the final weeks of the regular season.

Kade Anderson is the Mariners' not-so-secret weapon

The Anderson hype has been palpable all season long. It became clear months ago, frankly, that he was ready for The Show, even though prospects typically spend at least a couple years in the minors before jumping into the deep end. Anderson does not crank up the velocity like other high-profile pitching prospects, but he exhibits elite command. His fastball carries through the zone deceptively and he can locate his off-speed pitches with the consistency of a multi-year vet.

If there's an explanation for why Seattle waited this long, beyond service time manipulation, it's that the rotation has long been the Mariners' superpower. To the point that Emerson Hancock, very much ascending at 27 years old, became the subject of trade rumors simply because he represented Seattle's most logical path to acquiring a needle-moving bat. The Mariners shrunk their rotation from six to five quality arms with the Luis Castillo trade instead — and opened the door for Anderson, who will skip over the bullpen phase that most late-season call-ups endure and start immediately.

Between Anderson, Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby, it shouldn't be difficult for the Mariners to field a quality four-man rotation for the playoffs. Their pitching was a major reason behind their ALCS appearance a year ago and a similar deep run is not out of the question this season. Even if Anderson scuttles out of the gate (and he probably won't), either Hancock or Bryce Miller is more than capable of stepping up in October.

Is Andrew Painter finally turning the corner in Philadelphia?

Some Phillies fans would argue that they've seen too much of Andrew Painter already, so this is a much different situation than Anderson in Seattle. That said, Painter himself is a former top prospect. The 23-year-old has struggled on the whole this season, with a 6.43 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 18 appearances (16 starts). He has 71 strikeouts in 85.1 innings.

Even his most recent outing was a stinker on the surface, with five runs allowed in five innings. But those were five runs from two homers, with only three hits allowed in total. The underlying metrics painted a more promising picture.

It seems that Painter has reshaped and revived his fastball after a brief return to Triple-A prior to the All-Star break. The off-speed pitches have looked excellent all year, but hitters were feasting on a flat, ill-placed fastball early in the campaign. It has been a slow and rocky build-up for Painter after losing all of 2024 to Tommy John surgery, but the raw talent has never once faded.

If he can continue to ramp up the fastball and produce more palatable results (4.43 ERA since his second call-up in late July), there's a nonzero chance Painter is starting (or at least pitching real innings out of the bullpen) come October for a Phillies team short on viable pitching depth.

River Ryan can complete the Tigers' post-Tarik Skubal puzzle

River Ryan is a unique "prospect," as he's 27 years old and made his MLB debut in 2024 — when he posted a 1.33 ERA across four starts for the Dodgers. Then Tommy John surgery nuked his development and put him behind the curve, but Ryan has resurrected his stock. He is now considered one of the sharpest minor league arms out there, pitching far better than his 4.46 ERA in Triple-A suggests.

Ryan is hurt (again) but he's currently throwing bullpen sessions and is on track to return sometime this season. The Tigers may favor a bullpen role for preservation reasons, but Ryan wields an electric six-pitch mix, highlighted by his slider and changeup, which coax a ton of swing-and-miss (he has 43 strikeouts in 36.1 innings this season).

Detroit has already received helpful contributions from the fresh-faced Jackson Jobe, Troy Melton and Keider Montero in an attempt to punch their postseason ticket without Tarik Skubal or Casey Mize, but Ryan could be the missing piece. He just needs to get on the mound long enough to establish confidence in his body and his mechanics. The talent is there to really move the needle for a Tigers team that could use a back-end reliever just as much as it needs more depth in the rotation.

Dalton Pence is a sleeping giant for the Rangers

Dalton Pence has quickly climbed the ladder in the Rangers farm system, moving from High-A to Triple-A this season with a combined 2.83 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 95.1 innings. Though not the most celebrated name (MLB Pipeline ranks him as Texas' No. 10 prospect), FanSided's Zach Rotman dares to wonder if he is "this year's Trey Yesavage."

With Nathan Eovaldi on the IL, the Rangers' rotation thins out pretty quickly after Jacob deGrom and MacKenzie Gore. With the postseason still very much in reach — and perhaps even a run at the AL West crown — Texas should leave no stone unturned. The speed with which Pence has adjusted to and subsequently dominated each level of the minors, over such a short span of time, is very encouraging. The 23-year-old, who was an 11th round pick just two years ago, has made it clear: he's ready for the brightest lights.

Pence attacks hitters with a solid three-pitch mix that, not unlike Yesavage, relies heavily on a dangerous splitter and slider to compensate for middling fastball velocity. The Rangers really have nothing to lose from speed-running him to the majors to see if Pence can maintain his current momentum and help them secure a spot in October.

Hagen Smith could unlock the White Sox

The White Sox are primed to win the AL Central and pose a real threat to the powerhouse teams like New York, Tampa Bay and Boston on the East Coast. It's easy enough to write off a team as inexperienced and unexpected as the Southsiders, but the White Sox lineup can match blows with any team. The real question is can the White Sox pitching staff hold up its end of the bargain?

Right now, the answer feels like... probably not. But there's still room for internal upgrades. Tanner McDougal was called up earlier this month and promptly demoted after he walked three batters and surrendered a hit-by-pitch, recording just one out, in a disastrous debut out of the bullpen. Chicago should consider giving him another look, though. Southpaw Tyler Schweitzer, who has a 2.59 ERA in 24.1 innings out of the White Sox bullpen this season, should probably get called up again, too.

Already on the roster, however, is Chicago's top-ranked pitching prospect Hagen Smith, who has allowed but one hit and one earned run in 4.2 innings across four relief appearances. He has also allowed six walks, but he's missing bats at an electric rate when the command is on. That has been the case all year for Smith, really.

Given the dire state of the White Sox rotation, especially now that Davis Martin is on the IL, one can't help but wonder if Smith will get a chance to start. Even if he does not, his stuff should continue to play up as a reliever. He can potentially deliver results in higher-leverage spots for a White Sox team that needs all the help it can get.

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