The college pitching demographic in this year's draft has become one of the strengths of the class, in large part due to arms such as Kade Anderson skyrocketing up draft boards throughout the college season. In a loaded pitching staff at LSU, Anderson has emerged as the ace, and can certainly do the same for an MLB team in a few years.
In his first full year as a starter, the lefty has posted a 3.66 ERA with 124 strikeouts to just 20 walks across 13 starts and 76.1 innings pitched.
Previous Scouting Reports:
Kade Anderson Scouting Report: Bio and Tools
Age on draft day (birthday) | 21 (07/06/2004) |
|---|---|
HT/WT | 6'2" 179 lbs |
Throws | Left |
Year | Sophomore |
High School | St. Paul's School - Covington, LA |
Tool | Grade |
|---|---|
Fastball | 60 |
Breaking | 55 |
Offspeed | 55 |
Control | 55 |
Overall | 55 |
Anderson is a draft-eligible sophomore who worked both as a reliever and a starter in his freshman year at LSU. He missed the entirety of his senior season in high school due to undergoing Tommy John surgery, so he immediately entered the college ranks with some question marks. He managed to return to form pretty quickly, as he was dominant out of LSU's bullpen last year before transitioning to the rotation full-time in 2025.
It all starts with the frame and athleticism for Anderson. He lacks a true starter's frame, as he's only standing in at 179 pounds, but there's plenty of physical projection for the lefty. Considering how well he moves down the mound, added size should only help him tap into more durability and velocity. It's a very easy and repeatable delivery for Anderson, which allows for deeper outings as well as more consistent strike-throwing.
Anderson throws from a higher arm slot but a lower release point due to his ability to get down the mound with plenty of extension. Because of the unique combination, Anderson can induce vertical break and create a flatter approach angle with his release point. It's a great foundation to work with if you're a pitching coach.
Anderson's fastball sits in the low-90s and has topped out at 96 mph. With the expectation that he will continue to grow, that max velocity can creep up into the upper-90s. He has great feel for the offering and doesn't have too many issues commanding it.
As for his breaking pitches, Anderson has thrown an upper-70s curveball along with a mid-80s slider. It's tough to identify which pitch is better for him, as both have flashed above-average traits and results. They're both high-spin offerings, with the curve generating plenty of vertical drop while the slider has a lot of sweeping action. He has feel and confidence for both pitches, can throw them in any count, and can land them in the strike zone.
The changeup is another above-average secondary and is really what has separated him from the second tier of college pitchers. It's a mid-80s offering with plenty of fade and sink, making it his platoon pitch for right-handed hitters, which really helps to complete his arsenal as a starter. If he can continue to develop it, the offering will help mitigate any reliever risk in his profile.
The results for Anderson speaks for itself. He has made the necessary strides as a starter going from his freshman to his sophomore year, and it has shown up on the stat sheet. He walked 20 batters in 38 innings last year, and it took him 76 innings to reach the same amount here in 2025. He has seen an uptick in strikeouts as well, improving his strikeout rate from 33.9% in 2024 to 39.7% in 2025. The improvement in his command as well as his ability to get swings and misses has resulted in nearly an 11.0% increase in K-BB% (22.4-33.3).
Kade Anderson 2025 MLB Draft Outlook
Coming into the season, Kade Anderson was hardly considered a first-round talent, as there was too much unknown about what his first full year as a starter would look like. There was definitely some upside that evaluators liked, but Anderson still had to prove it. It's safe to say he has done just that, as he has reached as high as third overall on recent mock drafts. Jamie Arnold is still the favorite as the first arm off the board, but Anderson has joined names like Liam Doyle, Seth Hernandez, and Kyson Witherspoon as the potential second pitcher selected.
He's looking more and more like a sure thing to be selected within the first ten picks of the draft, as he continues to perform well deep into conference play. A team that has been linked to him more than any other is the Cardinals with the fifth overall pick. The Cardinals have consistently pulled from the college ranks with their first-round picks in recent drafts, and have also found some success with college arms. Quinn Matthews, their third-round pick in 2023, has been their most successful college pitcher find in recent years and draws some similarities to Anderson, leading some to believe Anderson is a favorite on the Cardinals draft board.