Arkansas Travelers Announce 2026 Roster, Headlined by Mariners Top Two Pitching Prospects

North Little Rock, Ark. — When the Arkansas Travelers open their home schedule at Dickey-Stephens Park on April 7, they will do so with the most electric Double-A rotation Seattle has assembled in years. The club formally released its 2026 roster Tuesday, confirming that the Mariners’ top two pitching prospects—left-hander Kade Anderson and right-hander Ryan Sloan—have bypassed High-A Everett entirely and will begin the year in Arkansas, the organization’s traditional springboard to T-Mobile Park.

Anderson, the 21-year-old LSU product and reigning College World Series champion whom Seattle selected in the first round last July, headlines the staff. Known for a polished four-pitch mix and advanced feel for sequencing, the southpaw has drawn early comparisons to Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage, another first-round college arm who rocketed from Low-A to the majors within a calendar year. Mariners player-development officials elected to keep Anderson in one location rather than shuffle him across multiple time zones, a tacit signal they believe he can move quickly through the upper minors.

Joining Anderson is 20-year-old Ryan Sloan, the Mariners’ 2024 competitive-balance pick (55th overall) whom the club signed away from a Wake Forest commitment with a $3 million bonus. After spending his draft summer acclimating to pro ball, Sloan opened 2025 in Modesto and finished the year in Everett, flashing a mid-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss slider that drew rave reviews during big-league camp. His dominant outing against Milwaukee’s top farmhands in the Spring Breakout showcase cemented the organization’s confidence that he is ready for older competition. The assignment also preserves the off-field bond between Sloan and Anderson, roommates who have pushed each other since their first workouts in Peoria.

The Travelers’ position-player group will feature two returning Top-100 prospects: infielder Michael Arroyo and outfielder Lazaro Montes, both promoted from Everett midway through 2025. The right-handed duo encountered the notorious “Dickey-Stephens Park” penalty that suppresses right-handed power; Arroyo’s elite bat-to-ball skills kept his line respectable, while Montes still slugged 14 home runs but saw his strikeout rate spike. A second season in Arkansas offers both hitters a chance to refine their approaches before a potential late-summer jump to Tacoma.

Right-handed slugger Jared Sundstrom, who spent all of 2025 with Arkansas and saw extensive time in Mariners spring exhibitions, returns for another tour. The 6'4" corner bat will look to conquer the pitcher-friendly environment that held his power in check a year ago and could earn a quick promotion if adjustments take hold.

The bullpen mix includes 2024 fifth-rounder Jake Beilenson, a cerebral reliever who collected two graduate degrees at Duke after an undergraduate stint at Brown. The Southern California native—who counts podcaster Chris Rose as a former eighth-grade basketball coach—profiles as a middle-innings option with plus command and a fastball that touched 95 this spring. Beilenson’s experience with Team Israel during the winter added high-leverage innings to his résumé and positions him for a potential major-league debut later this season.

Arkansas fans will also recognize catcher-first baseman Anthony Pagliarini, affectionately dubbed “Pags,” who posted a three-true-outcomes line in Everett and showcased an advanced approach in Cactus League play. At 6'0" he lacks prototypical size, but the organization believes any uptick in contact could turn him into an offensive-minded bench option.

Outfielder Sammy Siani, Pittsburgh’s 37th overall selection in 2019, will look to resurrect a hit-tool-driven profile that never quite clicked in the Pirates system. Seattle’s player-development staff hope a fresh set of eyes can unlock the line-drive stroke that once made Siani a top-40 draft name.

Fans with access to Mariners TV can stream every Arkansas home and away game at no additional cost through MiLB TV. The complete schedule is available on the club’s official site.

With a rotation headlined by Anderson and Sloan and a lineup peppered with Top-100 pedigree, the 2026 Travelers are poised to outdraw their Southern League peers and could provide the next wave of reinforcements for a Mariners club eyeing a return to October baseball.

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