The Three Minor League Pitchers Most Likely to Get the Call
Kade Anderson is posting a 0.37 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 24 innings. Robby Snelling is one step away at AAA. Karson Milbrandt is missing bats at an elite rate. All three stats are real โ pulled straight from the MLB Stats API.
We pulled the 2026 minor league pitching leaderboards straight from the MLB Stats API and filtered for starters who have not yet made their big league debut. What came back was genuinely surprising. One guy is posting a 0.37 ERA. Another is striking out batters at a 14-per-nine clip with a walk rate that would make Greg Maddux jealous. A third is eating up Double-A lineups with a power arm that still has room to grow. Here is the breakdown, with nothing made up.
Kade Anderson
Born July 6, 2004 ยท Age 21 ยท Throws Left
2026 Stats (AA โ Arkansas Travelers)
| G | GS | IP | ERA | WHIP | K | BB | HR | K/9 | BB/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 24.1 | 0.37 | 0.70 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 14.2 | 1.5 |
Source: MLB Stats API, 2026 season through May 2
The Breakdown
A 0.37 ERA. Four walks in 24.1 innings. Zero home runs allowed. These are not projections โ this is what Kade Anderson has actually done through five starts at Double-A Arkansas. The 21-year-old left-hander is doing something historically rare and the Seattle Mariners have to be watching with a mixture of excitement and the internal conflict every organization faces when a pitcher is this good this fast: do you slow him down, or do you let it ride?
The 14.2 K/9 is the headline but the 1.5 BB/9 is the real story. Strikeout rates can be driven by stuff alone. A 1.5 walk rate at Double-A tells you Anderson knows where the ball is going every time he releases it. That combination โ elite swing-and-miss paired with elite command โ is what separates a guy with good numbers from a guy who is actually difficult to hit. Anderson appears to be the latter.
Small sample caveats apply โ 24.1 innings is not a full story. Anderson will face better lineups, scouts will build reports on him, and Double-A hitters will make adjustments. But the Mariners have been searching for a homegrown left-handed starter for years. If Anderson keeps this up another month, Seattle may not have a choice. He is the name to watch.
Robby Snelling
Age 22 ยท Throws Left
2026 Stats (AAA โ Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp)
| G | GS | IP | ERA | WHIP | K | BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 29.0 | 1.86 | 0.90 | 44 | 15 | 13.7 | 4.7 |
Source: MLB Stats API, 2026 season through May 2
The Breakdown
Snelling is the most MLB-ready pitcher on this list. He is at Triple-A, he is striking out batters at 13.7 per nine innings, and his 1.86 ERA says the results have matched the stuff. When you are a 22-year-old left-hander posting those numbers at the highest level of the minors, the call is not a question of if โ it is when.
The one thing scouts will look at is the 4.7 BB/9. Fifteen walks in 29 innings is more than you want from a starter who is supposed to be polished enough for AAA. It has not hurt him yet โ the strikeout rate is high enough to absorb some free passes and the 0.90 WHIP shows he is keeping baserunners to a minimum overall โ but it is the number Miami will want to see come down before they hand him a rotation spot. Big league lineups will make him pay for walks in ways AAA lineups have not.
The Marlins are rebuilding and they have been cautious with their pitching pipeline after a history of arm injuries at the big league level. Snelling is healthy and throwing well. If the walk rate stabilizes over his next two or three starts, you will probably see him in Miami before the end of May. He is that close.
Karson Milbrandt
Born April 21, 2004 ยท Age 22 ยท Throws Right
2026 Stats (AA โ Pensacola Blue Wahoos)
| G | GS | IP | ERA | WHIP | K | BB | HR | K/9 | BB/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 24.1 | 1.85 | 1.07 | 31 | 10 | 3 | 11.6 | 3.7 |
Source: MLB Stats API, 2026 season through May 2
The Breakdown
Milbrandt is the work-in-progress on this list โ not in a concerning way, but in the way where you can see the ceiling clearly and watch in real time as he figures out how to reach it. The 11.6 K/9 says the stuff is genuine. Double-A hitters are not getting comfortable against him. The 1.85 ERA says the results have held up. But three home runs allowed and a 3.7 BB/9 tell the same story: a 22-year-old right-hander who throws hard enough to miss bats but occasionally misses the zone or leaves one over the plate.
The 1.07 WHIP is respectable โ it is not a red flag, just not immaculate. Milbrandt gives up more baserunners than Anderson or Snelling but has largely worked out of trouble when it counts. That is a skill in itself. Minnesota has been developing him steadily and the Twins' system has a track record of patient pitcher development that tends to pay off.
Milbrandt is the least likely of the three to be called up this calendar year, but he is the most interesting development story. If the walk rate drops and the home run ball gets cleaned up at AAA โ the inevitable next stop โ you have a mid-rotation starter with legitimate strikeout upside. He is the name to file away for 2027 fantasy drafts.
Head-to-Head: Where Each Has the Edge
| Category | Anderson | Snelling | Milbrandt |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERA | ๐ 0.37 | 1.86 | 1.85 |
| WHIP | ๐ 0.70 | 0.90 | 1.07 |
| K/9 | ๐ 14.2 | 13.7 | 11.6 |
| BB/9 (lower is better) | ๐ 1.5 | 4.7 | 3.7 |
| HR Allowed | ๐ 0 | โ | 3 |
| Level | AA | ๐ AAA | AA |
| MLB Readiness | 6โ12 months | ๐ Now | 12โ18 months |
| Ceiling | ๐ No. 1 starter | No. 2โ3 starter | No. 3โ4 starter |
Bottom Line
If you are betting on which of these three has the highest ceiling, it is Kade Anderson โ and it is not close. A 0.37 ERA with 14.2 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 at Double-A from a 21-year-old left-hander is the kind of line that makes front offices move quickly. Seattle will not keep him at Double-A much longer if he keeps pitching like this. He is the most exciting arm in the minor leagues right now.
If you want to know who is making his MLB debut first, watch Robby Snelling. He is at Triple-A, he is 22, and he is striking out batters at a rate Miami cannot ignore. The walk rate needs to tighten, but everything else says he is ready. Snelling could be a Miami Marlin before June.
And if you are a fantasy player looking for a name to stash, put Karson Milbrandt on your watchlist. He is the furthest away and the most unfinished of the three, but 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings at Double-A with room to grow is the profile of a future big league starter. Check back on him in 2027.
All statistics sourced from the MLB Stats API (statsapi.mlb.com), 2026 season through May 2, 2026. Player IDs: Kade Anderson 807739 ยท Robby Snelling 702281 ยท Karson Milbrandt 703596.
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