This article lays it out pretty well I think. It's interesting, I've been tempted to compare Anderson to Marco Gonzalez but didn't want the howls. I've been pointing this stuff out since he was drafted. He was never projected as a top of the rotation starter. He went 3rd in a mediocre draft. He was drafted because of his polished quick to the big leagues ability, he has a high floor. That's why Sloane is so highly valued, he's farther from the big leagues but has a much higher ceiling.
For starters, Anderson was never billed as the next Tarik Skubal: He was billed as a reliable big leaguer who could help a rotation quickly. He always lacked premium, premium upside, but that was going to be balanced out by a high floor and a quick path to the big leagues. Furthermore, his velocity is not a massive concern, as told to us by ESPN's Buster Olney last week, and this same player development group turned Andres Munoz, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryan Woo into All-Stars
I'm going to say the same thing about Anderson today that I said a few weeks ago. He's learning valuable lessons right now. It's good to challenge hitters and to be fearless, but you also have to have a self-awareness about who you are. Anderson's velocity can absolutely work, but he has to be better about living on the corners and the edges, particularly with two strikes.
Just take Monday's pitch sequence to Zack Neto as a perfect example. Anderson gets ahead 0-1 on a painted curveball, then gets Neto to go out of the zone on 0-1, and then leaves a fastball right down the middle. It gets hit for a triple, and a run
When Anderson has been in trouble, that's been a consistent issue. Not finishing hitters off and not getting them to expand the zone on their own. Again, he will learn how his stuff works and he will be better for it. If Jamie Moyer and Marco Gonzales can have great Mariners tenures, then Anderson can too
https://roundtable.io/sports/mlb/marine ... e-anderson