Brett Anderson (baseball)

Brett Anderson
Oakland Athletics – No. 49
Starting pitcher
Born: February 1, 1988 (1988-02-01) Midland, Texas
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
April 10, 2009 for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics (through 2011)
Win–loss record	21-23
Earned run average	3.66
Strikeouts	286
Teams
Oakland Athletics (2009–present)

Medal record
Competitor for United States
Men's Baseball
Bronze	2008 Beijing	Team

Brett Franklin Anderson (born February 1, 1988, in Midland, Texas) is a left-handed pitcher for the Oakland Athletics.

Early life

He attended Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he was an all-state selection in 2006, his senior year.

Baseball career

Anderson was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.

In December 2007, he was traded by Diamondbacks with Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos González and Chris Carter to the Athletics for Dan Haren and Connor Robertson.

In 2008, Anderson hurled one scoreless inning in the All-Star Futures Game played at Yankee Stadium. He was a combined 11-4 with a 3.62 earned run average and 101 strikeouts between Class A and Double-A when he was named to the U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing. He and his team won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Anderson was a highly-touted young prospect; in 2008 he was ranked as the 36th-best prospect in the Major Leagues, and in 2009 he was ranked the top prospect in Oakland's system and the #7 prospect overall by Baseball America.

Major leagues

On July 6, 2009, Anderson pitched a shutout against the Boston Red Sox striking out 9 batters, a career high. It was his first career shutout, and his first career complete game.

On July 19, 2009, Anderson threw a perfect game through 7 2/3 innings, eventually surrendering a hit to Bobby Abreu. He gave up only 2 hits, 0 walks, and 0 earned runs through 8 innings pitched, and struck out 6.

On September 24, 2009, Anderson broke the Oakland Athletics single-season rookie strikeout record (a team record that was held since 1977), while racking up 6 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings versus the Texas Rangers.

Anderson Finished the 2009 season with an 11-11 record, posting a 4.06 ERA. He led the team in wins (11), shutouts (1), tied with Tomko and strikeouts (150). He received 2 votes for AL ROY, losing to teammate Andrew Bailey.

Anderson began the 2010 season off throwing 6 shutout innings against the Mariners. He allowed 3 hits, struck out 4 and walked 1, getting Oakland's rotation first win.

Personal

Anderson is the son of Frank Anderson, the baseball coach at Oklahoma State University.

Scouting Report

Anderson features premium stuff as a lefthander. His fastball ranges from the low to mid 90s and his best secondary pitches are his breaking balls, his slider and curveball. His slider has a very hard, sharp 10-4 break and ranges in the 84-87 mph range. While in 2009 and 2010 he used it as a main strikeout pitch, in 2011 he has stopped throwing it as frequently due to concerns that it was contributing to his elbow problems. He also has a curveball that he is now using as his main strikeout pitch. like the slider, it has a very hard, sharp break, ranging from 78-83 mph. Anderson has very good command of the pitch, being able to throw it for strikes throw it outside of the zone for hitters to chase. He often throws it down and in to right handed batters in an attempt to get them to swing over it. Anderson also has a low 80s changeup that he rarely throws.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Brett Anderson's Twitter Page