Anderson doesn't seem like the best fit for cozy Citizens Bank Park. He's a fly-ball pitcher who doesn't strike out a lot of guys (7.6 per 9 innings) and walks nearly three hitters per 9 innings, good for a career WHIP of 1.275. It's not great, but it's not awful, either.
But he was absolutely awful last year. Like member-of-the-Phillies-bullpen awful. He pitched 33.2 innings and allowed 45 hits and 11 homers with a 7.22 ERA. Opposing hitters hit .315 against him with a .986 OPS. Small sample size, but definitely worthy of the puke emoji.
I checked his baseball-reference.com page for some positives and came up with a couple:
- In 890.2 innings pitched in his career, he has balked exactly once.
- He's only thrown 14 wild pitches in his career.
His best year was with the Brewers in 2017, when he recorded a 2.74 ERA and a WHIP of 1.09 in 141.1 innings. The next season, he allowed a league-high 30 home runs, compared to his 1.4 HR per 9 innings over his career.
Since the Phils spent $4 million on the 33-year-old righty, I expect him to be a member of the starting rotation. I hope he learns to keep the ball down in the strike zone and gets a ton of ground balls.
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