Braves Game Report: Ian Anderson (8/26/20)
The Braves called up Ian Anderson for his major league debut Wednesday against the Yankees. It was a tremendous spot for the 22-year-old to face such a formidable team and one of the best pitchers in the game in Gerrit Cole.
I said Tuesday that Anderson represents the best pick among Braves pitching prospects to make his debut in such a situation, because he has the confidence and mound presence to make it work. But perhaps no one could have anticipated six innings of one-hit, one-run ball with six strikeouts. The following is my game report on Anderson.
(Note: These are grades for this one outing. They don’t represent his potential grades.)
FB: 55
92-95, touched 96. Showed above-average command. Mostly straight with a flash of natural cut when thrown glove-side. He has to work the quadrants and change eye levels with the pitch, and he did just that. His developed ability to go above the barrel with deception showed here along with the command to locate on the knees in big spots. The Voit homer was a reminder that he has to keep it off the middle of the plate. It can get ambushed when it’s a hittable 93 over the heart. Anderson’s heavy changeup usage and effectiveness also sped up the fastball and contributed to the 55 grade. In a particular at-bat, after a heavy dose of changeups to Tauchman, he threw a 93 mph fastball that didn’t get fully inside, but Tauchman was late and got jammed.
CH: 60
A real weapon. Showed plus command. Anderson had the feel and confidence to throw the changeup in any count, any quadrant, and in big situations. The pitch graded this high based on feel and the effectiveness it had playing off the fastball. He tunneled them exceptionally well from the high slot and was excellent at replicating his fastball arm speed, making the changeup look like a fastball until late in its path as it faded under bats. The arm-side fade was consistently above-average. He showed the confidence of a veteran in his usage of the pitch, evident in 3-1 and 3-2 changeups to Gardner that induced swinging strikes and a strikeout.
CB: 50
Average command. The curveball was clearly the third pitch in this start. It flashed above-average and was a consistent fringe-average to average. It was enough to keep hitters honest as a wrinkled look. He kept it mostly tight and showed solid-average depth and downward break. Throwing it in the zone a little more often would’ve produced a few more swinging strikes.
Delivery/mound presence:
Anderson further proved his poise and strong mound presence to dominate a good Yankees lineup. He had excellent tempo and attacked the zone from the first pitch. He didn’t change that tempo or mentality when he had baserunners; if anything, he clamped down and was even stronger on the mound. He proved he belonged. Anderson comes from a high slot and he repeated it well with all pitches, especially the fastball and changeup that tunnel off each other. It’s a long arm path and high slot, but he stays on line and repeats his delivery at a very high rate.
Comments:
This was best-case-scenario type stuff for Anderson. He kept the momentum of his most recent starts and was phenomenal in his debut against a good Yankees lineup. The way he consistently turned over plus changeups with huge confidence will alter my long-term view of the pitch. The fastball and changeup played off each other at a very high level, while the curveball showed enough to keep hitters honest. In the biggest moment of his baseball life, he showed poise and consistently above-average command. Will he produce high pitch grades like this in every start? No. But his command potential and feel to pitch give him a great chance to do it more consistently than others who struggle to locate start to start. This outing further solidifies Anderson’s mid-rotation potential.