Comments on: Q & A with Bryan Anderson

By: futures market

futures market — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:28:02 +0000

Great….now the next time he catches Perez, he’ll call for a breaking ball in the dirt and get a fastball right in his grill, lol.

By: Birdo

Birdo — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:17:15 +0000

I understand the replacement level differences.

That’s exactly what we heard about James Loney when he was 21 years old: he had a line drive swing and not enough ‘loft’ or ‘backspin’ to produce much power. Yet last year he hit 15 HR with a .539 SLG in half a season with the Dodgers.

Young players change. Not only do they get stronger, but they get better at recognizing pitches and tweak their swing. Anderson’s already conscious of creating more backspin on the ball. Right now he doesn’t look like he’ll hit more than 10 HR a year in the major leagues, but he would hardly be the first good hitter to add significant power to his game after age 21.

By: azruavatar

azruavatar — Thu, 29 May 2008 21:25:59 +0000

Scouts make reads on 21 year olds power potentials every day. The difference isn’t necessarily in the raw numbers but in the scouting information. Anderson doesn’t have a lot of loft in his swing. He’s a line drive hitter with gap-to-gap power not because he’s just 21, but because that’s what his swing mechanics generate. He’ll probably add a little more power to his skillset as he gets older but he’s just not a big slugger.

It’s not just the power though. Anderson profiles as an above average offensive catcher but with positional scarcity that hurts his value if you move him to a corner OF or 1B spot. A .300/.350/.400 line is great for a catcher — it’s marginal for an outfielder and terrible for a firstbaseman.

By: Birdo

Birdo — Thu, 29 May 2008 15:54:25 +0000

azruavatar,
In my opinion it’s a bit too early to say whether or not he will hit enough play as an OF or 1B. At 21 years old, it’s far too early to get a read on his power ceiling. We know he won’t be a slugger, but as a hitter is he really that far off from where Conor Jackson or Casey Kotchman were 3-4 years ago? Not that those guys are stars at first base, but they are good enough.

Besides, I think the point is more that if he shows he can play first base or the outfield, he becomes more useful as a reserve and will get more playing time if he gets called up to the big leagues this year or next year. It would be a shame to see him promoted and then only play in one or two games each week.

By: nms

nms — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:44:02 +0000

really good Q&A session. I’m looking to seeing him up with the big club in later in the season.

By: azruavatar

azruavatar — Wed, 28 May 2008 22:05:27 +0000

His bat doesn’t play as more than a reserve in the outfield and it doesn’t play at all at first base.

By: Double A

Double A — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:56:01 +0000

Good stuff Roarke.

I know the kid is really focusing on his catching game right now, but I’m a little surprised they don’t have him routinely spending some small amount of time in the OF or at 1B…just to gage any glimmer of other-position-potential.

By: NASA

NASA — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:12:00 +0000

Great Q &A. It made me feel real old when Anderson was asked who were his favorite players growing up and he said Mondesi, Karros,and Piazza.

By: VolsnCards5

VolsnCards5 — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:13:20 +0000

perez vs. anderson….power pitcher vs. good contact hitter…righty vs. lefty….that has all the makings of a great at bat

By: roarke49

roarke49 — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:03:46 +0000

Yeah, I was really impressed when I talked to him - especially in how he talked about his need to work on his defense. I also thought that his comments about not reading BA or us was a very mature approach. I’m sure that if I was 21 and in his position I would be googling my own name and reading everything anyone said about me (in fact, I do that even though I’m not 21 and a professional athlete!).