Brian Anderson

[bigredrudy]

I have been watching Brian Anderson with a great deal of interest. He looks to be a fine defensive outfielder. There are some people on the board who are quite familiar with him. I would like to have some comparisons with Aaron Rowand. Who is faster? To me they look to be roughly equal. Who has the most power? It looks to me like Anderson might have more power. Who is the most disciplined hitter? Who is the best centerfielder? I would appreciate a response who has seen both of them play

[Daver]

Originally Posted by bigredrudy

I have been watching Brian Anderson with a great deal of interest. He looks to be a fine defensive outfielder. There are some people on the board who are quite familiar with him. I would like to have some comparisons with Aaron Rowand. Who is faster? To me they look to be roughly equal. Who has the most power? It looks to me like Anderson might have more power. Who is the most disciplined hitter? Who is the best centerfielder? I would appreciate a response who has seen both of them play

Anderson has a better arm, better range, and a better sense of how to play center, speedwise they are about equal, Rowand has more power, though Anderson could develop into a 20 HR type player, and he projects to hit for a good average.

In an extreme emergency Anderson can pitch too, he was a releiver in college.

[DaleJRFan]

Originally Posted by Daver

Anderson has a better arm, better range, and a better sense of how to play center, speedwise they are about equal, Rowand has more power, though Anderson could develop into a 20 HR type player, and he projects to hit for a good average.

In an extreme emergency Anderson can pitch too, he was a releiver in college.

Yea, but Daver... don't forget, Brian Anderson is a SCRUB.

[JorgeFabregas]

I have been impressed by his arm during his play with the big leagues.

[Tragg]

I saw on the highlights tonight a play he made in left on a ball hit off the wall; he played it perfectly and held the runner at 3rd. That was an excellent play. I hope he can hit ML pitching soon, because I'd love to have him in the outfield.

[RadioheadRocks]

"Believe it or not, it's just Me!!!"

[Hagan]

I think Anderson has the tools to become a better player than Rowand. He is a 5 tool player who can be a great addition to the sox in the future. In my opinion Chris young and sweeney will become better players than him down the road, but I really like anderson.

[RedPinStripes]

Originally Posted by RadioheadRocks

"Believe it or not, it's just Me!!!"

LMAO!

[veeter]

Originally Posted by Hagan

I think Anderson has the tools to become a better player than Rowand. He is a 5 tool player who can be a great addition to the sox in the future. In my opinion Chris young and sweeney will become better players than him down the road, but I really like anderson.

You could be right but there's really nothing to base this on. Sweeney has shown very little power. Young has but strikes out a lot. I agree all three are going to be good. Throw in Jerry owens and you've got a lot of talent. But watching Anderson he brings something special to the table...confidence. The guy walks around like he belongs. He has no real weaknesses to his game. I'm anxious to watch his hitting develop.

[tschneid83]

I just wanted to add that I was not sure about anderson but..... yesterday (3rd game vs Cle) he cut off a ball and held a guy to 1st where I would say 90% of OF's would of let it go to the wall and put the guy on second. This really impressed me. He is not crazy fast but he took a great route to a ball that could of been a double for most people.

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by veeter

You could be right but there's really nothing to base this on. Sweeney has shown very little power. Young has but strikes out a lot. I agree all three are going to be good. Throw in Jerry owens and you've got a lot of talent. But watching Anderson he brings something special to the table...confidence. The guy walks around like he belongs. He has no real weaknesses to his game. I'm anxious to watch his hitting develop.

Chris Young is going to be the best player of the bunch, and that certainly says a lot considering the company he keeps in that 4-some of OF'ers.

Plate discipline? Anderson will strike out about on-par with Rowand, but he'll take more walks. I also think Anderson, at USCF, playing 140 games, is a 20-25 HR hitter right away. He has power in spades but doesn't always show it.

One more thing... it's amazing watching an OF'er who has true instincts and knows how to get to a ball as soon as it's hit...

[maurice]

Originally Posted by Randar68

He has power in spades but doesn't always show it.

Yeah. This underscores a general point . . . Anderson has more talent than Rowand but still needs to develop it. For example, Anderson is at least as fast as Rowand, but Rowand is a better base stealer right now.

[Randar68]

Originally Posted by maurice

Yeah. This underscores a general point . . . Anderson has more talent than Rowand but still needs to develop it. For example, Anderson is at least as fast as Rowand, but Rowand is a better base stealer right now.

True, but if you're going to attempt to steal just 15 times a year, what's the difference? On an Ozzie-managed team, Anderson will get his share of steals... not something he was asked to do in the minors. You see him at Cleveland steal that bag? He had good jumps twice on it, had it stolen twice, IIRC... Definite room for improvement. That's what happens when you ascend as quickly as Brian has. Everytime he get's comfortable, he is pushed right along to the next level. Again, he has the mental toughness, approach to be able to handle that, IMO. Other guys may need to feel that sustained success before you can safely move them along.

[maurice]

Definite room for improvement.

That's my point. You gave one example (power); I gave another (SB).

Another example is his K total. Anderson can look brutal at times, but I love the way he makes adjustments to his swing -- even mid-game adjustments. The other day, he hit a bullet to RF when all he was trying to do was advance the runner. Meanwhile, Ronnie Belliard was K'ing and popping out, because he was trying to hit a 3-run HR when all his team needed was a sac fly to tie the game.

[tstrike2000]

I would even go as far to say, if KW needed to trade Rowand to get a good left handed bat, IMO I would do it. I think Anderson could fill Rowand's shoes quite admirably.