Brett Anderson - No love? - Minor League Ball

Brett Anderson - No love?

by nzach54 on Jun 4, 2007 11:33 PM EDT Comment 15 comments

Why does he seem to go under the radar? No one has mentioned Brett Anderson (Arizona). He has been absolutely lights out so far this year and he's just 19 years old. I know Kershaw has better stuff... but numbers wise... Anderson is right there if not better right now. Kershaw has 31 BB in 55 IP... look at Anderson's numbers.

6-3
2.07 ERA
0.96 WHIP
68 K
7 BB
65.1 IP

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He has been mentioned...

...at least a few times.

I would personally like to thank Dave Littlefield for banishing the ghost of Scott Kazmir from Shea Stadium.

by uga007 on Jun 4, 2007 11:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Anderson

He's a bit of a finesse lefty who is as polished as HS pitchers come (his dad is the head coach of a college team). I think he's not getting that much love because he's the type of player that should dominate Low-A.

Phillip Hughes turning into Barbaro? Odds are that Hughes will probably be put to sleep within the next year. --Bravesin08

by Dfarth on Jun 4, 2007 11:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Never mentioned?

I can personally remember mentioning him at least 4 times on this site in the last 2 months.

He's legit as a great prospect, but I'm getting sick of statements like the one above that a player "should dominate [insert level here]".

You don't roll out of bed and dominate professional hitters. It takes hard work, stuff, and knowing how to pitch. Unless you are a few years ahead of the league/age curve, there's no reason for such comments. He's a high school draftee in his first full season and dominating. Give him credit.

I think he's gotten a bad rap as a pure finesse pitcher when his draft report showed a good bit of stuff for a high schooler.

Rays in '08.... Free Andy Sonnanstine.

by youALREADYknow on Jun 4, 2007 11:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yeh

i mention him a lot in the daily report threads.
as a Diamondback fan I am thrilled with what he is doing now.
i see him as a potential number 2. is that too high?

by AZDBACKS on Jun 4, 2007 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think

His upside is a Noah Lowry or Jeff Francis (everyone remember how dominant he was a few years ago) type - both of who have been a decent pitchers. Probably more of a 3 than a 2 though.

Phillip Hughes turning into Barbaro? Odds are that Hughes will probably be put to sleep within the next year. --Bravesin08

by Dfarth on Jun 5, 2007 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Give Me a Break

I've given him credit and mentioned him in the daily thread as well. But the reason he's not getting the love of Kershaw and others is his advanced approach and his limited ceiling. BaseballAmerica and almost everyone expected him to do well in his pro debut...they said this in the Diamondback Top-10 chat last year:

Q: steve from tulsa,ok asks:
How fast do you see Brett Anderson moving up? Could he be the first high schooler out of this class to make it to the Big Leagues?
A: Will Lingo: I'm anxious to see how Anderson performs in his pro debut this year. He's as polished as any high schooler, so by that reasoning he could move quickly.

I fully expected him to pitch well this season in Low-A.

Phillip Hughes turning into Barbaro? Odds are that Hughes will probably be put to sleep within the next year. --Bravesin08

by Dfarth on Jun 4, 2007 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

that's fine

I'm not comparing him to Kershaw at all, although the original poster did.

Still, too many times I've seen that "Player X should be dominating Level Y" and it's completely erroneous.

A 19 year old dominating A ball the way Anderson is doing now is still quite an accomplishment and it's not expected by any means. It's expected that he performs well.

Maybe I'm nitpicking, but it's more about the comment in general than your comment alone.

Rays in '08.... Free Andy Sonnanstine.

by youALREADYknow on Jun 5, 2007 12:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fair Enough

It should be noted that the original comment was posted in the Top pitching prospects for 2008 thread and this poster was wondering why he wasn't getting love as a Top Pitching Prospect for next year. I acknowledge that Anderson has been very impressive but for a guy with his stuff he is going to have to dominate in AA or AAA before he gets into top prospect discussion - much like Francis or Slowey or any of the finesse guys. I certainly believe that Anderson is capable of that.

Phillip Hughes turning into Barbaro? Odds are that Hughes will probably be put to sleep within the next year. --Bravesin08

by Dfarth on Jun 5, 2007 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jeremy Sowers

He did quite good in the minors didn't he. Most Finesse lefties don't workout. Some do, Mark Buerhie(sp), Glavine, and Lilly.

by Bravesin07 on Jun 4, 2007 11:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm too lazy...

...so I'll let someone else go FJM on this comment.

I would personally like to thank Dave Littlefield for banishing the ghost of Scott Kazmir from Shea Stadium.

by uga007 on Jun 5, 2007 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't you think....

writing off a 24 year old with 150 IP in the majors is a bit premature?

by bl on Jun 5, 2007 1:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look Again

I don't see Braves07 writing anyone off here. He made three true statements. And yes, 150 IP is plenty for anyone to speculate how much less hittable Sowers would have to be to have an MLB career.

by igreen01 on Jun 5, 2007 2:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I looked again...

and to me he is implying Sowers will not be a good major league pitcher. The title of his post is Jeremy Sowers and the comment made was "Most Finesse lefties don't workout." Why would that comment be made under the heading Jeremy Sowers if he was not implying he thinks Sowers will be a finessse lefty that is not going to workout?

True, many finesse lefties to not work out. But IMO Sowers is better than the average finesse lefty (I am not alone here, he was a first round pick-twice and has a very successful track record-in the minors as well as in college-in a very highly regarded conference.)

Do you really think you can tell what kind of career a player will have by age 24 with 150 IP?

Through 245 IP Tom Glavine had a career ERA of 4.76 with 3.81 K/9 and a 1.48 WHIP. (To be fair he was 22 when he reached 245 IP)

Ted Lilly through 152.3 IP-5.73 ERA, 3.84 K/9, 1.57 WHIP (Age 25 when he reached 150 IP)

Jamie Moyer through 288.3 IP-5.09 ERA, 5.99 K/9, 1.61 WHIP. (Reached 288 IP at age 24)

Mark Mulder-154 IP (age 22), 5.44 ERA, 5.14 K/9, 1.69 WHIP

Sowers-146.6 IP, 4.79 ERA, 3.01 K/9 (this is where he HAS to improve, no doubt), 1.33 WHIP

Buehrle was a guy who did very well right away. But these other guys struggled and I don't think Cleveland would complain if Sowers turned as well as any of them. I do not think Sowers will be a Hall of Famer like Glavine. But saying a 24 year old with 150 IP

by bl on Jun 6, 2007 1:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

anderson

he needs to rework his body, gain strength and hopefully in turn gain some ticks on his fastball. at 6'4, he should be big enough to throw harder eventually.

by npurcell on Jun 5, 2007 12:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs