Chris Anderson
| IP | 407 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 5.042 |
| WHIP | 1.595 |
| BB/9 | 4.843 |
| SO/9 | 8.049 |
- Full name Christopher Ryan Anderson
- Born 07/29/1992 in Lino Lakes, MN
- Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 245 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Jacksonville
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Drafted in the 1st round (18th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2013 (signed for $2,109,900).
View Draft Report
Big and physical at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Anderson should give Jacksonville its first-ever first-round pick. Like the Dolphins' third-round product of 2012, outfielder Adam Brett Walker, Anderson is a Minnesota prep product, and he's evolved from the team's closer as a freshman to its Friday ace as a junior. His performance has improved significantly through his college career, as he has boosted his strikeouts, cut his walks and become more consistent across the board. Early in the season, under a heavy workload, Anderson showed scouts a front-of-the-rotation fastball, pitching downhill and touching 96 mph. He's usually in the 90-94 mph range, holds his velocity and throws strikes. He got strikeouts early both with the fastball and slider, which flashed plus. He also throws a much-improved changeup. Anderson generates velocity more from strength than arm speed, and most scouts see him as an innings-eater in the middle of a rotation. His timing helps, as a consensus starter in a year short on college arms.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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The Dodgers paid $2,109,900 to sign Anderson as a first-round pick in 2013, and he has confounded scouts ever since. When he's at his best, he looks like a future mid-rotation starter. But Anderson struggled in 2015, with his command in particular. He is built like a workhorse starter with a strong, 6-foot-3 frame and a fairly sound delivery and arm action. His fastball sits 90-94 mph and can reach 97 with good life and downhill plane. Anderson lacks deception, however, and his strikeout rate dropped from 24 percent at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga in 2014 to 18 percent at Double-A Tulsa in 2015. He struggled with his fastball command and lost his release point on his slider. He has flashed a solid-average changeup, but when he got into trouble, he tended to overthrow. Developing more feel for his changeup, improving his command and regaining feel for his breaking ball will be important for Anderson in a critical 2016 season. -
Anderson was the Dodgers' first-round pick (No. 18 overall) in 2013 and made his full-season debut at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga in 2014. While the California League inflated his ERA, Anderson improved in the second half and punctuated his season with a 44-7 K-BB mark in August and double-digit strikeouts in his final three starts. Early in the season, Anderson's stuff was flat and he ran up high pitch counts early in games. In the second half, he made adjustments that helped him keep the ball down in the zone. His fastball ticked up, his slider started to work again and he made big strides with his changeup. At his best, Anderson sat 90-94 mph and touched 97 with downhill angle and boring life down in the zone. He had trouble throttling his slider early in the year, but by the second half it was better and flashing above-average again. The Dodgers pushed him to use his changeup more often, which paid off, with Anderson taking the pitch from a firm, below-average offering into a slightly above-average weapon against lefties and righties with improved separation from his fastball. He also mixes in an early-count curveball to change eye levels and give hitters a slower offering as a get-me-over strike. He became more pitch-efficient later in the season but still needs to improve his command and control. With a strong, durable build and the stuff to miss bats, Anderson has the makings of a mid-rotation starter, with command his biggest developmental need. The new Double-A Tulsa affiliate is his next test. -
An unsigned 35th-round pick of the Cubs out of a Wisconsin high school in 2010, Anderson closed as a Jacksonville freshman and both hit and pitched as a sophomore. The staff workhorse as a junior became Jacksonville's highest-ever draft pick when the Dodgers took him 18th overall in the 2013 draft. He signed for $1,109,900 and performed well in the low Class A Midwest League. Anderson has a big, durable frame and attacks hitters with downhill plane on a fastball that sits at 90-95 mph and peaks at 98 with the ability to hold his velocity deep into his starts. He walked too many hitters in his pro debut, but he's usually around the strike zone. His best secondary pitch is a hard, mid-80s slider that flashes above-average with late bite. His 85-87 mph changeup at times is an average offering with good arm speed and fade, but it's inconsistent. Everything Anderson throws is firm, so to give hitters another look he mixes in a high-70s curveball, which comes and goes on him. He doesn't throw with a lot of effort, but his delivery has some deception. Some Dodgers officials believe Anderson can move quickly and take off once he fine-tunes his command, with a likely assignment to high Class A Rancho Cucamonga to begin 2014. He has the potential to become a mid-rotation innings-eater.
Draft Prospects
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Big and physical at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Anderson should give Jacksonville its first-ever first-round pick. Like the Dolphins' third-round product of 2012, outfielder Adam Brett Walker, Anderson is a Minnesota prep product, and he's evolved from the team's closer as a freshman to its Friday ace as a junior. His performance has improved significantly through his college career, as he has boosted his strikeouts, cut his walks and become more consistent across the board. Early in the season, under a heavy workload, Anderson showed scouts a front-of-the-rotation fastball, pitching downhill and touching 96 mph. He's usually in the 90-94 mph range, holds his velocity and throws strikes. He got strikeouts early both with the fastball and slider, which flashed plus. He also throws a much-improved changeup. Anderson generates velocity more from strength than arm speed, and most scouts see him as an innings-eater in the middle of a rotation. His timing helps, as a consensus starter in a year short on college arms.
Minor League Top Prospects
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Anderson had a tough first half--his ERA peaked at 5.96 at the end of May--but did get better as the season progressed and finished red hot. He certainly never had trouble missing bats, for he won the Cal League strikeout title with 146 punchouts. A physical presence on the mound, Anderson touched 97 mph even late in the season, while maintaining 92-94 throughout games. He attacks with his fastball, showing nice downward angle, before turning to his slider for wipeouts. His changeup was inconsistent but made marked progress, showing nice fade at 82-84 mph when it was going well. He also throws a get-me-over curveball. Anderson issued the third-most walks in the Cal League, and he had to learn to be more pitch-efficient and not overexert himself trying to get strikeouts. Early in the season, he'd routinely run up high pitch counts in four or five innings. He improved later in the season, working six innings or more in five of his last six outings while rolling up a 44-7 strikeout-walk ratio in the process.
