Lars Anderson Stats & Scouting Report

AB	48
AVG	.167
OBP	.268
SLG	.188
HR	0

Full name Lars Eric Anderson
Born 09/25/1987 in Oakland, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 215 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Jesuit
Debut 09/06/2010
Drafted in the 18th round (553rd overall) by the Boston Red Sox in 2006 (signed for $825,000).

View Draft Report

Anderson has as much helium as any high school hitter in California, rising up draft boards as he dominated his league and showed plus power from the left side. With a tall, big-boned frame and lefthanded-hitting, lefthanded-throwing profile, Anderson is just what scouts look for at first base. He played for USA Baseball's junior national team in 2005, and his .464 average and 11 RBIs in eight games helped Team USA win a silver medal in the Pan American Championship in Mexico. Anderson's campaign for the first round further gained steam at the National Classic high school tournament in March, when he hit several long homers. He led California's prep players with 14 home runs and has long arms that produce a swing with plenty of leverage, giving him power to the biggest part of the park. He's spread out at the plate, patiently waits for balls to get deep and shows the bat speed to catch up to good fastballs. He's a solid athlete who played basketball in high school and is an average defender, but his value is in his bat.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Anderson ranked No. 1 on this list in the 2009 Prospect Handbook, when he was coming off a .317/.417/.517 season in which he reached Double-A at age 20. One scout who saw him that summer said Anderson was ready to hit major league pitching if needed. Three years later, he has only a couple of September callups and 40 big league at-bats on his résumé. Anderson still has impressive size, bat speed, strength and hand-eye coordination. He has maintained his patience at the plate and led the International League with 80 walks in 2011. But he's not going to get a chance as a major league regular until he hits for more power and proves he can hit lefthanders. Anderson lacks loft in his swing and doesn't turn on enough pitches. He now looks more like a platoon player than a middle-of-the-order cornerstone. Anderson has worked hard to improve his defense and does a nice job around the bag at first base. He's a below-average runner but doesn't clog the bases. With Adrian Gonzalez signed through 2018, Anderson has no shot at starting at first base for the Red Sox. They nearly sent him to the Athletics last July in a trade for Rich Harden, but balked at the last second after reviewing Harden's medical records. He won't be a star, but Anderson might be able to hit .280 with 15 homers and a lot of walks for a team looking for an inexpensive first baseman.
Anderson ranked No. 1 on this list following the 2008 season, then had the worst year of his pro career, batting .233/.328/.345 in Double-A in 2009. He returned to Portland and destroyed Eastern League pitching last April, only to struggle for two months after his initial promotion to Triple-A. He recovered to hit .286/.345/.484 in the second half and earn his first big league callup. Anderson has the bat speed, hand-eye coordination and strength to hit for average and power. When he spiraled downward in 2009, he tinkered too much with his swing and approach, but he didn't panic and battled through his slump last season. He has yet to unlock home run power because he doesn't have much loft in his swing. He has had little success against lefthanders the last two years, batting .226/.310/.302 against them, and his naysayers see him as a platoon player with questionable pop. The Red Sox still think he can become a big league regular. A fringy defender in the past, Anderson has worked hard to improve at first base, becoming competent enough that Boston used him as a defensive replacement in September. He's a below-average runner. The blockbuster trade for Adrian Gonzalez all but ended Anderson's chances of becoming the everyday first baseman for the Red Sox, though they'll eventually need a replacement at DH for David Ortiz. Anderson will spend most of 2011 in Triple-A.
Signed for $825,000 after he dropped to the 18th round of the 2006 draft because of his price tag, Anderson hit .304/.404/.480 in his first two pro seasons. He tore up Double- A pitching at the end of 2008, earning the No. 1 spot on this list a year ago and prompting talk he was ready to help Boston if needed. Instead, he returned to Portland and struggled all year. With the loft in his swing and the leverage in his big frame, Anderson is still the system's best power-hitting prospect. Even when he slumped, he continued to draw walks and recognize pitches. Before 2009, he excelled at letting the ball travel deep and using his quick hands to punish pitches. He has worked hard to become an average defender at first base. When Anderson slumped, he tinkered with his swing, which became longer and more mechanical. After previously using the opposite field well, he became more pull-conscious, perhaps pressing to hit homers. Nothing worked, and he hit just .154 with one homer after the all-star break. He's a below-average runner. The Red Sox hope Anderson will learn from adversity, like Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard did before him. They still think he has a differencemaking bat, though they may have to send him back to Double-A to get it going again.
Anderson starred with the Team USA juniors in 2005, batting .464 with a team-high 11 RBIs at the Pan Am Championship in Mexico, and he led California high schoolers with 15 homers the following spring. Teams viewed him as a potential supplemental first-round pick, but Anderson had an inexperienced agent who didn't understand baseball's slotting system, and his $1 million price tag caused him to drop all the way to the 18th round. The Red Sox scouted him all summer and signed him in August for $825,000. He has justified that investment, establishing himself as the biggest offensive force in the Boston system while batting .304/.404/.480 in two pro seasons. Anderson began 2008 slowly, hitting just .277 with seven homers in the first two months at high Class A Lancaster, a hitter's haven. After missing the last two weeks in May with a minor wrist injury, he batted .361 with six homers over the next six weeks to earn a promotion to Double-A Portland at age 20, where he hit even better. Boston named him its minor league offensive player of the year. Anderson has all the ingredients to hit for a high average with a lot of power. He has an advanced approach, as he recognizes pitches and identifies strikes better than most players his age. His quick hands and wrists allow him to let balls travel deep before he unleashes big raw power. There's little effort in his smooth lefthanded stroke, and he keeps the barrel of the bat in the hitting zone for a long time. The loft in his swing and the leverage in his 6-foot-5 frame bode well for his home run potential. He draws plenty of walks and doesn't strike out excessively. When the Red Sox signed Anderson, they had concerns about his defense, but he has answered them. He has improved his footwork and glovework at first base, where he does a nice job of scooping throws out of the dirt. He's a diligent worker who has impressed the organization with his intelligence and maturity. Anderson can be too disciplined at the plate. His mindset is to work deep counts and drive balls on the outer half to the opposite field. He can do a better job of attacking hittable pitches early in the count, and once he starts turning on more inside pitches, he'll have plus power to all fields. Anderson isn't the quickest player, but he's not a baseclogger and has decent range at first. One scout who saw Anderson in Double-A opined that he could hit major league pitching in 2009 if needed. All-star Kevin Youkilis could shift from first to third base if Mike Lowell is slow to recover from hip surgery, and the feeble production the Red Sox got from first base when Youkilis moved to third was a contributing factor in their American League Championship Series loss to the Rays. But it's also easy to forget that Anderson will just be 21, and Boston's preference would be for him to spend at least the bulk of the season at Triple-A Pawtucket and push for a big league job in 2010.
Anderson led California high schoolers with 15 homers in 2006, but his inexperienced agent didn't understand baseball's slotting system and scared teams off with a $1 million price tag. The Red Sox took an 18th-round flier on him and landed him in August for $825,000. He went to low Class A Greenville at age 19 for his pro debut, where he showed that he has the best bat and best power in the system. He's extremely disciplined, recognizes pitches well and lets balls travel deep before drilling them to the opposite field. He generates tremendous raw power with just an easy flick of the wrists. His glove was better than expected, as he worked hard and managers rated him the best defensive first baseman in the South Atlantic League. Boston loves Anderson's approach but wants him to get more aggressive with two strikes. He takes too many borderline pitches in those situations. His power will explode once he starts to pull more pitches. All but one of his 11 homers last year went to left or center field. Once he fills out, he'll be a below-average runner. The next step is the launching pad at high Class A Lancaster, where Anderson could put up some crazy numbers in 2008. Corner infielders Kevin Youkilis and Mike Lowell are under Red Sox control through 2010, but Anderson may be ready before then.
Power hitters were the biggest need in the farm system, and the Red Sox hope they addressed that in the draft. The best in the crop is Anderson, who led California high schoolers with 15 homers last spring. A supplemental first-round talent, he fell to the 18th round because of his price tag and signed for $825,000. Anderson doesn't just have tape-measure power, but he generates it with ease. One scout compared him to Carlos Delgado for his ability to flip the barrel at the ball and have it explode off his bat. There's room for more strength on his 6-foot-5 frame, and for a power hitter he has a short swing and good approach. He sees the ball well and uses the opposite field already. He's a solid athlete. Anderson has to work on his defense, though he has the hands and footwork to become at least an average first baseman. Once he fills out, he'll be a below-average runner but shouldn't be a baseclogger. Anderson could make his pro debut in low Class A Greenville as a 19-year-old. The Sox can't wait to see what he does in game action.

Minor League Top Prospects

Just 20, Anderson started the year in the high Class A California League, where he was expected to put up huge numbers at Lancaster. Instead, he was fairly solid but not spectacular. He was more impressive in the EL, posting the highest OPS among Portland's regulars at .962. Anderson has plus raw power and an advanced, patient approach for such a young hitter. He generally swings at strikes and isn't afraid to go deep in counts. His defense around the bag also impressed one scout, who liked how he scooped balls in the dirt to save errors. "He's got some length in his swing, but his hands are really good," Leiper said. "His hands get to the ball, he's got quick wrists and he uses his lower half fairly well. He's got size and the leverage in the swing to hit for real power."
Another dividend from the Red Sox's recent investments in the draft, Anderson signed for $825,000 as an 18th-round pick in 2006. He impressed scouts and managers despite a wrist injury that kept him out for a couple of weeks at the end of May. He was even better after a promotion, batting .316/.436/.526 in the Double-A Eastern League. Anderson uses his hands well in his swing and shows loft power with the ability to drive the ball to both gaps. He has a great idea of the strike zone, and his smooth swing keeps the barrel of his bat in the hitting zone for a long time. Managers also liked his poise, both at the plate and in the field. Anderson played a solid first base, with good hands but not enough first-step quickness to have anything other than average range. He's a below-average runner though not a bad athlete.
After signing late in 2006 for $825,000 as an 18th-round draft pick, Anderson didn't disappoint in his pro debut. He showed the ability to hit for average and power while breaking in against older competition. His lefthanded swing was one of the league's prettiest. "He spreads the ball all over the field and is a very tough out," Augusta manager Roberto Kelly said. "He's a gap-to-gap type of hitter who will continue to get stronger and likes to compete. He looks very good at first base, too." Anderson hit just 10 homers but he had 35 doubles, a preview of the power to come one his game and his 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame mature. His defense showed improvement as the season progressed. He's an average runner now and projects to have a tick below-average speed as he gets older.