Tim Anderson IL Player of the Week

[southsider2k5]

Dan Hayes ‏@CSNHayes 1h1 hour ago

 

Tim Anderson is the International League batter of week for 5/9-15. Hit .432 (16-for-37) w/ 3 HRs and 6 RBIs in 8 games. #WhiteSox

 

[southsider2k5]

Patrick Nolan ‏@SSS_pnoles 3h3 hours ago

 

Tim Anderson: .459/.487/.730 since May 10th with just a 10.3% strikeout rate.

 

[lostfan]

Interesting, so I guess he had some early struggles adapting to the next level and he's getting more comfortable now.

[Lillian]

Is he ever going to learn to take an occassional walk? In 155 at bats, he has 5 walks!!

That, and his questionable defense leaves me less than overwhelmed, in spite of the torrid pace, at which he has hit in his last 10 games.

 

I'm afraid that I'm a little "old school," but I prefer an elite defender at SS. Unless he is going to become a better than .300 hitter, with an OBP north of .350,

he is probably not going to be a top SS, because of his defense.

[ron883]

Is he ever going to learn to take an occassional walk? In 155 at bats, he has 5 walks!!

That, and his questionable defense leaves me less than overwhelmed, in spite of the torrid pace, at which he has hit in his last 10 games.

 

I'm afraid that I'm a little "old school," but I prefer an elite defender at SS. Unless he is going to become a better than .300 hitter, with an OBP north of .350,

he is probably not going to be a top SS, because of his defense.

He's 22 with elite athleticism. Seems like he gets better at SS each year too. He'll be OK.

[OmarComing25]

Is he ever going to learn to take an occassional walk? In 155 at bats, he has 5 walks!!

That, and his questionable defense leaves me less than overwhelmed, in spite of the torrid pace, at which he has hit in his last 10 games.

 

I'm afraid that I'm a little "old school," but I prefer an elite defender at SS. Unless he is going to become a better than .300 hitter, with an OBP north of .350,

he is probably not going to be a top SS, because of his defense.

What questionable defense?

[Lillian]

What questionable defense?

 

What the hell do I know? I'm just going off of all of the scouting reports. This is typical:

 

"Scouts are split on whether Anderson can play shortstop in the big leagues. He has the necessary actions and enough arm strength, but his hands aren't especially soft and his footwork is erratic, leading to 78 errors in his first 255 pro games. His tools would profile well in center field if he can't cut it in the infield."

 

Many scouts question whether or not he will be a good enough defender to stick at SS, much less an elite defensive shortstop.

[OmarComing25]

What the hell do I know? I'm just going off of all of the scouting reports. This is typical:

 

"Scouts are split on whether Anderson can play shortstop in the big leagues. He has the necessary actions and enough arm strength, but his hands aren't especially soft and his footwork is erratic, leading to 78 errors in his first 255 pro games. His tools would profile well in center field if he can't cut it in the infield."

 

Many scouts question whether or not he will be a good enough defender to stick at SS, much less an elite defensive shortstop.

In another scouting report Law says he profiles as an above-average defender at SS. I think he'll be fine defensively. He's super athletic and has shown he can make adjustments. He just needs reps. There was a lot of talk about how much he improved with the glove last year as well.

Edited May 18, 2016 by OmarComing25

[Y2Jimmy0]

What the hell do I know? I'm just going off of all of the scouting reports. This is typical:

 

"Scouts are split on whether Anderson can play shortstop in the big leagues. He has the necessary actions and enough arm strength, but his hands aren't especially soft and his footwork is erratic, leading to 78 errors in his first 255 pro games. His tools would profile well in center field if he can't cut it in the infield."

 

Many scouts question whether or not he will be a good enough defender to stick at SS, much less an elite defensive shortstop.

 

 

Keith Law said he can play SS in the majors right now.

[bmags]

Patrick Nolan ‏@SSS_pnoles 3h3 hours ago

 

Tim Anderson: .459/.487/.730 since May 10th with just a 10.3% strikeout rate.

 

yes please.

 

Lillian - when was that snippet from? It sounds like last year is when he made huge strides in defense.

[fathom]

Patrick Nolan ‏@SSS_pnoles 3h3 hours ago

 

Tim Anderson: .459/.487/.730 since May 10th with just a 10.3% strikeout rate.

 

That's with an 0-6 with 3K included

[caulfield12]

Anderson doesn't have a Uribe/Valentin arm but he does have the athletic ability/range/quickness to make up for it.

 

For now, all signs point to him being an above-average SS, but probably not a great one unless you look at it from an all-around perspective.

Edited May 18, 2016 by caulfield12

[Blackout Friday]

Anderson doesn't have a Uribe/Valentin arm but he does have the athletic ability/range/quickness to make up for it.

 

For now, all signs point to him being an above-average SS, but probably not a great one unless you look at it from an all-around perspective.

His arm is above average, though. Probably his second highest tool behind his speed. His footwork and hands are what might hold him back defensively. Footwork can be fixed with reps. Hands might be an issue though.

[Lillian]

yes please.

 

Lillian - when was that snippet from? It sounds like last year is when he made huge strides in defense.

 

That quote on his defense was from the current scouting report on MLB.COM. It is the report on our #2 Prospect, under the "Top Prospects".

[Lillian]

I hope that you guys are right, regarding his ability to become a good defensive SS. It's not an easy position to learn, and too important to accept less than solid defense. For me, SS is a position that requires defense first, and offense secondarily.

[fathom]

Anyone else notice that Anderson is destroying lefties. Has over a 1.000 OPS against them.

[Dick Allen]

I hope that you guys are right, regarding his ability to become a good defensive SS. It's not an easy position to learn, and too important to accept less than solid defense. For me, SS is a position that requires defense first, and offense secondarily.

Then why was your first comment about him about his walk total?

[NorthSideSox72]

See the pinned thread in PHT - interview with Buddy Bell, where he talks about Anderson's defense (among other things).

 

[Lillian]

Then why was your first comment about him about his walk total?

 

I expressed both concerns in the same thread. You may be attaching too much significance to the order in which I addressed those concerns. There was no

intention to place anymore emphasis on his inability to take a walk than there was regarding his defense.

 

His unwillingness to take a walk does indeed seem to be his greatest offensive shortcoming. Look at his OBP.

The fact that he is not even close to an elite defender, at a key defensive position, is also a big negative, based upon what I consider important.

Do you disagree with any of those assertions?

Edited May 19, 2016 by Lillian

[NorthSideSox72]

I expressed both concerns in the same thread. You may be attaching too much significance to the order in which I addressed those concerns. There was no

intention to place anymore emphasis on his inability to take a walk than there was regarding his defense.

 

His unwillingness to take a walk does indeed seem to be his greatest offensive shortcoming. Look at his OBP.

The fact that he is not even close to an elite defender, at a key defensive position, is also a big negative, based upon what I consider important.

Do you disagree with any of those assertions?

A couple responses to this.

 

First, to say he "is not even close to an elite defender" misses the boat, as nearly no shortstops are such a thing in AAA anyway. The question is whether or not he has the tools to become good defensively, and he does. Can't say how good he will get, but he's certainly got a shot at being above average or better.

 

On the walks, it is key to look at it more through the lens of what it means about his plate approach. As that changes, he'll see more pitches to hit, AND get more walks. He's aggressive to a fault, but he also tends to adjust and get more patient at each level over time.

 

[SoxAce]

If he'll be elite defensively, I will gladly take prime Alexei with Anderson.

[caulfield12]

For what it's worth, the Boston Globe has an interesting story up about Jackie Bradley being TOO patient and that hindering his success as a hitter.

 

 

 

Counterintuitive as it may sound, the biggest key was being less patient at the plate.

 

Bradley saw an average of 3.92 pitches per plate appearance in his first two seasons in the majors, putting him among the team leaders. But going deep into counts rarely paid off.

 

Bradley was making pitchers work, but he had a low on-base percentage and piles of strikeouts. By taking so many pitches, he was getting himself out.

 

Bradley was a product of a minor league system that rewarded working counts, and he was a successful hitter at every level. But against major league pitchers with better command, what was a virtue became an obstacle.

 

“It works for some people. It didn’t work for me,” Bradley said. “They wanted us to make the pitcher work. That’s all they told us. Make the pitcher labor. I want to make the pitcher work by getting constant base hits.

 

 

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2...h1eO/story.html

 

It seems a bit far-fetched at first, but I believe you'll actually see his walk totals increase at the next level...for the opposite reasons as in the Bradley article. Pitchers have better command in the big leagues, and if Anderson's 80% as dangerous as Bradley Jr. is now, they'll work around him. He'll have to learn to take those walks, of course. And he absolutely can't expand the strike zone.

[Lillian]

He has the lowest walk rate of any player in the League, 5 in a 165 at bats. I don't understand the reasoning that it should improve, in the Big Leagues.

That seems counter intuitive to me. MLB pitchers do indeed have better control, therefore unless he acquires better plate discipline, that weakness is likely to

be exploited, to a greater degree. He is making contact at a terrific rate, right now. However, pitchers are going to start throwing him more pitches out of the zone,

unless he can demonstrate that he can lay off of them. He may be getting base hits, but not many of them for extra bases. He did have that one stretch where he homered in 3 consecutive games, but outside of that, he hasn't hit a lot of doubles and triples. Maybe that's because it's hard to really drive balls, that aren't

thrown in the strike zone.

 

Moreover, his lack of patience at the plate is a very negative factor, for a leadoff hitter, which is where he supposedly best fits. He will need a much higher OBP, and work deeper into counts, if he bats at the top of the order. Where can one find the stats for number of pitches per at bat, for Minor League hitters? I can't seem to find it.

 

I'm sorry guys, I just don't get why he is so highly ranked, as a prospect. I've heard the line about "athleticism" far too many times, when it comes to sox prospects.

I prefer a baseball player with a high baseball accumen and baseball skills, not a great athlete. I'm not saying that he might not become a good player, but I don't get all of the hype. If the right trade comes along, and the price is our #2 prospect, I'd pull the trigger. Maybe the fact that he is our #2 prospect says more about the sorry state of our Farm system, than it does about how good he is. After all, he is still not even in the top 10 SS prospects in baseball.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Lillian

[ron883]

He has the lowest walk rate of any player in the League, 5 in a 165 at bats. I don't understand the reasoning that it should improve, in the Big Leagues.

That seems counter intuitive to me. MLB pitchers do indeed have better control, therefore unless he acquires better plate discipline, that weakness is likely to

be exploited, to a greater degree. He is making contact at a terrific rate, right now. However, pitchers are going to start throwing him more pitches out of the zone,

unless he can demonstrate that he can lay off of them. He may be getting base hits, but not many of them for extra bases. He did have that one stretch where he homered in 3 consecutive games, but outside of that, he hasn't hit a lot of doubles and triples. Maybe that's because it's hard to really drive balls, that aren't

thrown in the strike zone.

 

Moreover, his lack of patience at the plate is a very negative factor, for a leadoff hitter, which is where he supposedly best fits. He will need a much higher OBP, and work deeper into counts, if he bats at the top of the order. Where can his stats for number of pitches per at bat be found, for Minor League hitters? I can't seem to find it.

 

I'm sorry guys, I just don't get why he is so highly ranked, as a prospect. I've heard the line about "athleticism" far too many times, when it comes to sox prospects.

I prefer a baseball player with a high baseball accumen and baseball skills, not a great athlete. I'm not saying that he might not become a good player, but I don't get all of the hype. If the right trade comes along, and the price is our #2 prospect, I'd pull the trigger. Maybe the fact that he is our #2 prospect says more about the sorry state of our Farm system, than it does about how good he is. After all, he is still not even in the top 10 SS prospects in baseball.

Obp isn't everything... the guy consistently hits around or over 300. He has elite speed, really good bat speed, and above average potential at SS. I think he is more of a #2 hitter personally. You are focusing wayyy too much on the one negative of him, his average obp. Not every prospect will light it up their try at a new level in the minors. He is young for AAA and is playing pretty darn well . Not sure why you are so down on him.

[caulfield12]

What list of prospects currently out now has 10 guys ranked ahead of him?

 

Hard to believe it's Baseball America, which is generally accepted as one of the best and certainly most famous listings.

 

Even if that were true, it's not really a big deal because SS is the most athletic position on the field, and prospects coming up there often end up at 2B, 3B, CF or pretty much anywhere in the outfield. I'm sure most of the lists only have a couple of catchers ahead of him, that's just the nature of the game right now.

 

There's a lot of incoming talent at that position, such as Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado will be shifted there from 3B once JJ Hardy leaves Baltimore, Bogaerts, Cozart, Corey Seager, Dansby Swanson, Trea Turner, Brandon Crawford, Trevor Story (there's an even better prospect behind him in the Rockies' system), Ketel Marte and Addison Russell/Javier Baez. These positions tend to ebb and flow. 15 years ago, ARod/Nomar/Tejada/Jeter ruled the AL. Recently, it was almost impossible to find a great 3B...and certainly a franchise catcher.

 

As far as Anderson hitting leadoff, he would hit 8th or 9th his first year or two before becoming comfortable. Eventually, he'll end up at leadoff, 2nd or at the bottom of the order if his OBP/OPS don't merit as many AB's.

 

 

 

The reason trading Anderson won't happen is we have to fill holes (or sign extensions) at 3B, SS, 2B, catcher, CF and LF over the next two years, and that's not even dealing with the rising cost of pitching (and the lack thereof in terms of cheap/young pitchers on the market). That's six positions alone...and you could probably make it 7, adding uncertainty surrounding Avi Garcia's future.

 

Anderson has to become an All-Star player for the White Sox unless they're going to raise the payroll to the $150-175 million range.

 

It's also not a sure thing they're going to want to overpay Todd Frazier in his middle thirties for declining production...he'll probably receive offers like $70 million for 3 years if he keeps this current pace up over the next couple of years (assuming the defense stays the same and BA is in the 240's).

Edited May 20, 2016 by caulfield12