Is Tim Anderson Ready?

[bmags]

If nothing else, I feel like Anderson is the type of player that will finally take advantage of soft throwing lefties by just getting out there and swinging.

[TheTruth05]

Let him finish his development up in the big, we know he can fail and adapt. His fielding will only get better and he might feel more comfortable with Rollins backing him up and being his mentor. I think mid-June he is up and he will definitely be a precursor for a trade for a LH DH bat.

[Black_Jack29]

I don't think Anderson = Beckham though. Anderson has been in the minors for long enough to where that comparison is basically moot. He can't be rushed like Beckham because he's played more than less than half a season's worth of games.

 

Beckham was a star in the SEC and was better-prepared than Anderson at this point in their respective careers.

 

[BigHurt3515]

At what point is a minor league player considered "Developed?"

[southsider2k5]

At what point is a minor league player considered "Developed?"

 

The idea that it is a set number of AB's that is the same number for each player is silly. It doesn't matter that it was 1300 ABs for Anderson, he still has big holes in his game. A guy like Beckham was rushed, but he was giving the team reasons to rush him. A guy like Kris Bryant doesn't need the same number of AB's as a guy like Tim Anderson.

 

He just doesn't have the depth and background of a guy that played only positional baseball his whole life. He didn't play baseball his first two years of HS. Anderson also had a grand total of 332 college AB's in two seasons of minor community college baseball. Gordon Beckham had 275 in his Junior year alone, after playing for 3 full years at one of the top baseball schools in the country.

 

With Anderson it isn't like he has done something that makes him look like a can't miss SS today at the major league level either. We know he has a history of really bad starts, long slumps, lots of strikeouts, and not many walks. He still has some big exploitable holes in his game as we speak today.

[gosoxgo2005]

The idea that it is a set number of AB's that is the same number for each player is silly. It doesn't matter that it was 1300 ABs for Anderson, he still has big holes in his game. A guy like Beckham was rushed, but he was giving the team reasons to rush him. A guy like Kris Bryant doesn't need the same number of AB's as a guy like Tim Anderson.

 

He just doesn't have the depth and background of a guy that played only positional baseball his whole life. He didn't play baseball his first two years of HS. Anderson also had a grand total of 332 college AB's in two seasons of minor community college baseball. Gordon Beckham had 275 in his Junior year alone, after playing for 3 full years at one of the top baseball schools in the country.

 

With Anderson it isn't like he has done something that makes him look like a can't miss SS today at the major league level either. We know he has a history of really bad starts, long slumps, lots of strikeouts, and not many walks. He still has some big exploitable holes in his game as we speak today.

 

 

This is the kind of response I was looking for, and I agree with it 100%

[EvilJester99]

Got to hope when Anderson comes up that he doesn't struggle because everyone will declare him a bust and won't be happy until he is dealt

[Rowand44]

From what I've heard about Beckham, he probably fails either way. Didn't have the mental fortitude.

I think the same can be said about a lot of prospects that fail. In general I don't think it's going to matter too much if you're 'rushed' or handled with kid gloves, some guys are just mentally tough enough to succeed in the bigs and some are not.

[beautox]

no, but if continues his ways at AAA soon after the super 2 deadline.

[thedoctor]

3-4 with an rbi tonight.

 

/shrug

[Whitewashed in '05]

3-4 with an rbi tonight.

 

/shrug

And he needs to continue having those nights to deserve a call up.

[beautox]

And he needs to continue having those nights to deserve a call up.

 

for may hes put up this line .376/.422/.515 with 3HR and 6SB and a 7BB% / 17K% before tonight, after super 2 he'll be up. Hahn has made it clear everything is in play and all hands are on deck.

[caulfield12]

Anderson to the 2/9 hole.

 

Saladino back to supersub.

 

Rollins/Garcia (for now) platoon at DH, Rollins hitting against all LHP.

 

Sands to AAA/DFA.

 

 

Probably the future at some point here soon...

[soxforlife05]

Anderson to the 2/9 hole.

 

Saladino back to supersub.

 

Rollins/Garcia (for now) platoon at DH, Rollins hitting against all LHP.

 

Sands to AAA/DFA.

 

 

Probably the future at some point here soon...

 

This needs to happen soon. If Saladino could work in the outfield as well he can play whenever a regular gets a day off.

 

Unless you are trying to preserve Anderson's trade value for a deadline deal, he deserves a call up within the next month or so if he keeps it up. It's not like he's blocked by anyone who is making solid contributions right now.

Edited May 27, 2016 by soxforlife05

[BigHurt3515]

I would be very disappointed if we traded Anderson. We never can produce hitters out of our system and I would like to actually have one succeed in the MLB with the White Sox

[Boopa1219]

Anderson to the 2/9 hole.

 

Saladino back to supersub.

 

Rollins/Garcia (for now) platoon at DH, Rollins hitting against all LHP.

 

Sands to AAA/DFA.

 

 

Probably the future at some point here soon...

 

Batting Anderson second would be great because it guarantees that he'll see some good pitches to hit, but having him bat ninth wouldn't put any pressure on him.

[caulfield12]

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=2...lb&sid=milb

 

Anderson having a May to remember.

 

Lots of good quotes.

 

 

Lefty Killer Line-Up

 

Eaton

Anderson

Abreu

Frazier

Rollins

Cabrera

Lawrie

Navarro

Jackson

Pretty obvious they need one LH batter (preferably can play CF) who can crush righties.

 

 

He's hitting .387 against lefties and .288 so far this season against RHP (971 vs. 665 OPS). So I think you'd probably see him or Rollins hitting second against lefties and down at the bottom of the order against RHP.

 

Another encouraging stat is .386 on the road and "just" .263 at home. .387 in all May games.

 

 

 

He's been incredibly consistent with his hitting stats against RH and LH pitching the last 2 1/2 years. 2013 stands out as something of an anomaly.

 

 

2015 vs. LHP .339 BA/839 OPS

2015 vs. RHP .303 BA/759 OPS

 

-36 points, -80 points

 

 

2014 vs. LHP .329 BA/840 OPS

2014 vs. RHP .286 BA/780 OPS

 

-43 points, -60 points

 

 

2013 vs. LHP .234 BA/557 OPS

2013 vs. RHP .291 BA/759 OPS

 

 

He's also consistently been hitting at a 759-780 OPS clip for three years against RHP.

 

This year in AAA has been the only season (so far) down in the 600's for OPS, but his huge numbers against LHP are cancelling that out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chicago White Sox]

As soon as we guarantee that extra year or control, Anderson should be called up. Rollins has been a disaster and clearly the Sox don't have a lot of faith in Saladino being a passable regular. Anderson will struggle at first, but no way can he be worse than Rollins has been. And I think spending some time with Rollins would be fantastic for his development.

 

Also, I wouldn't mind seeing Danny Hayes called up to take some starts at DH. Sands serves no purpose on this team as currently constructed unless we're willing to send down Avi (which seems unlikely).

 

Against RHP:

1. Eaton, RF

2. Anderson, SS

3. Abreu, 1B

4. Frazier, 3B

5. Cabrera, LF

6. Lawrie, 2B

7. Hayes, DH

8. Catcher (50/50 split)

9. Jackson, CF

 

Against LHP:

1. Eaton, RF

2. Anderson, SS

3. Abreu, 1B

4. Frazier, 3B

5. Cabrera, LF

6. Lawrie, 2B

7. Garcia, DH

8. Navarro, C

9. Jackson, CF

Edited May 27, 2016 by Chicago White Sox

[caulfield12]

Calling Rollins a disaster is pushing it.

 

LaRoche last season was a disaster. Keppinger and Bonifacio. Paulino. Dunn in 2011. Kelly Downs. ETC. Garcia in the OF.

 

I believe he's played a significant role in changing the chemistry and seriousness of that clubhouse, although there's no way to prove it.

 

 

I'm perfectly fine platooning him as the LH side (and part-time SS in the sense Beckham was last year) part of a DH combo with Garcia until they can find a better solution on the trade market.

 

Saladino can back up every position on the infield, PR (gives our bench more speed with Rollins and Saladino, one of the complaints and reasons for SOME asking for Leury Garcia of all possibilities)...and perhaps he can also learn how to play some outfield, at least in an emergency. Playing LF hasn't seemed to hurt Desmond's OPS numbers, for example...he's adjusted well so far.

 

At some point, you think about releasing or DFAing Rollins, but that's only as a last measure...let's say things go terribly awry and the team is 5-7 games out of the WC race like most of last summer, with a ton of teams to pass.

 

 

Also would be pretty shocked to see Hayes or Coats taking AB's from Avi or Rollins. Maybe in September, but unlikely.

Edited May 27, 2016 by caulfield12

[Chicago White Sox]

Rollins has a .485 OPS against RHP, which is absolutely horrible. Despite crushing LHP, he's basically been a replacement level player so far. Our goal this offseason was to replace the replacement level & negative WAR players with solid 2 WAR types and Rollins isn't that. Challenge the word "disaster" all you like, but I can't think of a better word to describe trotting Rollins out in the two-hole day after day against RHP. While that ultimately falls on Robin, it doesn't change the fact how Jimmy is impacting our lineup. His performance has sucked and the signing as of now hasn't worked out. There is still some hope if Robin starts looking at splits and realizes whaf kind of player Jimmy is now. Not very optimistic on that front though.

 

Also, let me add that I agree Jimmy has added value in the clubhouse and that I was a fan of signing him partly due to that reason. However, once it became apparent he can longer hit RHP, his time as regular should have ended. I don't want to cut Rollins by any means, but his role need to change because he's hurting the team right now.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Chicago White Sox

[caulfield12]

I'd say 20% of the blame falls on Ventura, 40% on Hahn and 40% on Reinsdorf for not authorizing signing Desmond for one year.

 

He shouldn't be overplaying him against RHP, and certainly not hitting him 2nd where he's getting an extra AB every game nearly.

 

Unfortunately, if they end up pushing Anderson to the big leagues in June and he ends up like Byron Buxton, the narrative until the end of time will be that he was rushed and it adversely affected his development, like Semien, Micah Johnson and Beckham.

 

 

(Not to mention that Desmond almost has a 2 WAR playing LF already and later on could have been moved to Cabrera's position with Anderson coming up to add even more energy and athleticism to the line-up).

 

Eaton

Anderson

Abreu

Frazier

Cabrera

Desmond

Lawrie

Navarro

Jackson

 

Other than Jackson's hitting issues, that's a line-up that definitely can at least hang in there with DET and CLE.

 

Right now, we're 2 players short. 1-7, those hitters can give you 15-18 homers, and obviously Abreu, Frazier, Desmond and maybe Lawrie even more.

 

 

Edited May 27, 2016 by caulfield12

[ptatc]

When would he be considered not rushed then? He has 1300 MiLB at bats. 1400? 1500? Beckham had about 230 MiLB at bats. THAT is rushing a prospect.

 

Again, I'm not advocating for him to be called up at this very moment. If he's hitting .330 in 2 weeks and the Sox are still getting s*** production from half the lineup, then I probably will be.

 

All that said, it's fun have a prospect so hot that we're having this debate even

He will be ready when the people who do this for a living decide he has made the proper mental and physical adjustments to be able to perform at a MLB level. There is no number of at bats rule or age rule. He hasn't even had sustained success at the AAA level for more than a few weeks. Baseball is usually more about the mental adjustments than the physical ones.

[ptatc]

Got to hope when Anderson comes up that he doesn't struggle because everyone will declare him a bust and won't be happy until he is dealt

his history has shown he will struggle for awhile when he first comes up.

[Soxnfins]

Personally, you keep Anderson down for as long as he needs. This situation screems Gordon Beckham to me all over again if you rush him up. Sure he has 1300+ MiLB AB, but he needs to show he has the mental confidence. Remember, not that long ago Anderson was very raw, he's just starting to grasp. You have to see if he can fully handle his position for more than a month or so, on a consistent basis. Keep him down until the end of July, unless he proves AAA is like shooting fish in a barrel. That's just my two cents.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Soxnfins

[Dunt]

Personally, you keep Anderson down for as long as he needs. This situation screems Gordon Beckham to me all over again if you rush him up. Sure he has 1300+ MiLB AB, but he needs to show he has the mental confidence. Remember, not that long ago Anderson was very raw, he's just starting to grasp. You have to see if he can fully handle his position for more than a month or so, on a consistent basis. Keep him down until the end of July, unless he proves AAA is like shooting fish in a barrel. That's just my two cents.

 

Gordon Beckham comps are lazy, the only reason people are bringing him up is because he's the freshest failure in our minds. They are very different situations.