Looking for updated scouting reports on Brett Anderson
by JPShark on Dec 25, 2008 2:23 PM PST
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PrintHey guys and gals, i've been in the middle of some pretty extensive arguments lately over on minorleagueball.com regarding Brett Anderson (among others) and his "stuff". I recall hearing more then a few times that Anderson's fastball velocity had improved since his 2007 season, and also that his secondary pitches are considered above average pitches. The problem i'm running into is that I don't have memberships/accounts/access to many of the sites and articles that present this kind of information on minor league players. I'm sure many here can relate as i'm a student and have to put my extra income (the little that I have) towards non-baseball related essenitals. I know there are some very insightful and baseball intelligent fans on this site so if anyone has any links or articles/info they can provide or argue over on Sickels site that would be awesome. I am a diehard A's fan and would like to show as much support as possible for our guys, so any info is much appreciated.
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I happened to see those exchanges on minorleagueball.com
and was surprised to see how bullish the guy is on Cahill and how bearish he is on Anderson.
My understanding – but it’s not from seeing him and I may or may be remembering correctly – is that Anderson has a fastball he can get up to 93MPH but which normally sits around 90-91 with good movement, plus an above average breaking ball and changeup, and that what distinguishes him is his exceptional command.
Sounds to me like Blanton, but left-handed and with slightly better pure stuff (but not a better repertoire or significantly different fastball velocity). He also gets great marks for makeup (“mature / knows how to pitch”) and figures to be ready for the bigs younger than the average prospect.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
I just realized you ARE "the guy,"
and just not one of the commenters within that thread, which I hadn’t noticed before. So in my comment above, change “the guy is” to “you are” and “he is” to “you are” – sorry!
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Well
I’m not sure if your mistaking me for Dewey Finn as I haven’t actually created any fanposts and I don’t really remember getting in on any discussions regarding Cahill, but I do get into some deep discussions on that site regarding Anderson and he seems to be very underrated on that site. It’s continually posted that he gets by without “good stuff” when everything I have heard says that his secondary stuff is very good and his fastball is average at worst. I seem to remember hearing more then once that he had increased his FB velocity from the time the A’s aquired him but I can’t find anything that actually shows it. I also got into a discussion on Dewey’s “B” prospect list when Cunningham was compared to Dustan Mohr and Bobby Kielty. It just seems as though the guy, along with other, are A’s haters for whatever reason. I realize how petty it is to argue over these things when performance is what matters, but I love me some baseball discussion and I gotta back up my A’s.
Yes I did confuse you with Dewey Finn
Shark, Finn – who can keep track?
I wouldn’t assume he’s an A’s hater for his lukewarm evaluations of Anderson and Cunningham, as he seems to like Cahill better than anyone I’ve seen – and most like him a lot.
I think Dewey just doesn’t realize that Anderson’s fastball command and his poise/maturity make him special – which personally I think he probably is (I have to hedge because I literally have never seen him pitch).
As for Cunningham, ratings about him are all over the map between “4th OF who can’t hit a good fastball and isn’t great at anything” to “5-tool player who will maximize his skills to be a 20/20 guy in the bigs.” I think he’ll be fine, and has as good a chance as Sweeney or Buck to become a solid every day OFer – but it’s no slam dunk.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Yes
i’ve noticed how high he is on Cahill, which somewhat suprised me considering how low he is on guys like Anderson, Cardenas and Carter. Cardenas and Carter obviously have question marks but i’m not sure they are as “overrated” as he sometimes claims.
As far as Cunningham goes, I agree on the wide range of projections on him. My problem was when he compared him to a guy like Dustan Mohr who didn’t even sniff AA until he was 25, and had a MiLB line much less impressive then Cunninghams who was playing in the bigs at 22 years old.
I think the bias against Carter is largely
the Custian “strickouts!!!111” factor. It sounds like Carter has two key qualities in the ability to draw a walk and the ability to launch the ball when he does make contact. Defensively, I wish the A’s would just leave him at 1B and see if he can master a slightly easier position, rather than futzing around with having him play at 3B, where he’ll never stick anyway.
From what I’ve heard/read, I think Carter has the potential to be an average defensive 1Bman with a .360 OBP and 35 HRs, and if he can become all that I really don’t care what his batting average is or how many times he whiffs. That’s basically a Jack Cust who can play in the field and not hurt you.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
I think a lineup with Jack Cust, Corey Brown, and Chris Carter would be fun
The middle of the lineup could have an average of .225 but still hit 30 HR a piece and get on base a proverbial butt load.
The problem is that Dewey essentially just made up scouting reports
And, last I checked, couldn’t actually produce any evidence of scouts/sites/anybody saying some of the things he said.
That’s not to say he’s not right overall about Anderson. He just doesn’t have much to back it up.
by thejd44 on Dec 25, 2008 7:55 PM PST up reply actions
i was in those too
still can’t quite understand how derek holland is a full letter grade better than anderson. not to say holland isn’t that good, because he is.
to each his own.
"If you hit .440 with 20 bombs, you don't have to do s---. You don't have to bring a glove to practice, just hit and leave whenever you want. You can bring a 40 and smoke a cigarette and call me from the parking lot asking me what time the game is, and I'll tell you. You can even say 'F--- you, Steve!' Actually, don't say that, that wouldn't be very nice." -Steve Friend, Head Coach, Chabot College Gladiators Baseball
Right.
I have called the guy (Dewey) on a couple things, not trying to sound like an arrogant ass but just to start some conversation as to why he seems to be low on all A’s prospects aside from Cahill and usually the response is “he’s overrated” or some off the wall comparison to some player whose career path looks nothing like the player in question. Obviously I have a bias for A’s prospects, but I give credit where credit is due and I sure as hell don’t completely underrate them and have zero argument to back it up.
I think guys like Anderson, who "make it look easy"
by putting the ball where they want and working hitters, just don’t look as impressive as flame throwers and guys who snap off breaking pitches that buckle hitters’ knees – yet Henry Rodriguez and Gio Gonzalez are very unlikely to have better careers than Anderson has.
I think a good Anderson comp, based on what I’ve heard, is Mark Buehrle, who wasn’t some hot-shot prospect but who pretty quietly became a solid #1-#2 starter in the big leagues. And it sounds like Anderson actually throws a bit harder than Buehrle, though Buehrle may have a wider assortment of breaking pitches.
But Buehrle is the type of pitcher who looks like he should be hitable – to hitters and to scouts. Anderson may have the same “problem” – which is not really a problem at all.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
I don't have a problem with guys saying A's prospects are overrated
Some of them (Adrian Cardenas) are. But Dewey FInn basically sifts through various scouting reports and patches them together to paint Anderson as a guy with a ceiling of completely average. I don’t know anything about the guy, but I’m pretty sure he’s not a scout, just somebody that thinks Derek Holland and Brett Anderson both can’t be good.
I'm not sure if Cardenas is overrated,
in that he’s only rated as a B-prospect and it sounds like he has the tools to be a “good Barton” type hitter who can handle himself defensively at either 2B or 3B. I’d say Henry Rodriguez is overrated and I have my concerns about Mazzaro and Gio, though I’m hopeful on both due to their age.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
I don't know if I agree in the Cardenas-Barton comp
But I do know what you’re saying. Barton was never really supposed to hit for power. High average, high OBP, low slugging. IMO, Cardenas will have to do very well to hit the numbers that Barton was supposed to.
I know he’s not horribly overrated in the B-prospect sense, but people keep talking about his power, and I’m beginning to become suspicious of whether it existed at all. Personally, I think that IF Weeks can come back healthy, he’s a far better prospect than Cardenas.
Hypothetically, if it played out this way, which it probably won’t for whatever reasons, but if Barton could stay at first, use Carter as a DH or LF, Doolittle has played well in RF and has the arm for it. Let Weeks man 2B, move Cardenas to 3B and for the love of god find a SS. If they all played up to their potential (will not happen) it would be a pretty damn good lineup.
I don’t really know where I’m going with this. It’s late and I guess I have to rosterbate to go to sleep. I just don’t think Cardenas has the power to warrant 3B, especially if Barton is at 1B. That’s too little power production from our corner infield.
Yeah, all I meant with the Barton comp
was that you might have, in Cardenas, a .290/.360 hitter with only 15 HRs but 40 doubles, a la Mark Grace – only at 3B instead of at 1B. But it would be better if he could handle 2B, ideally in a fantasy world if he had what it took to play SS.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
It exists
He set the Florida high school record for home runs.
I emphatically disagree with placing Weeks ahead of Cardenas, even stipulating full health for both players.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Anderson/Buehrle
Without looking at numbers, I think I like that comp. When Buehrle came up in 2000 and 2001, he was throwing around 90-91. Now he’s probably 87-88, but at Anderson’s age he was throwing about that hard.
If Anderson can become Buehrle, that’s a very good thing. I happen to think Buehrle might be the most underrated pitcher of this generation. He’s basically Glavine-lite.
by thejd44 on Dec 25, 2008 7:57 PM PST up reply actions
He's pretty much what Greg Smith should endeavor to be
But Anderson has a much better chance of actually being it.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
If Mark Buehrle is the poor man's Glavine (and I think he's better than that)
Greg Smith is the homeless man’s Tom Glavine.
I want Brett Anderson to be rich. Or something. I think I’ve gotten lost in my metaphor.
by thejd44 on Dec 27, 2008 10:15 AM PST up reply actions
Anderson made Cal League batters
look like they were blindfolded and swinging at a pinata. Now those hitters are young, but man his command and ability to “pitch”, and not just throw, is unbelievable. I saw him strike a guy out on 3 straight change ups. Only to start off the next guy with 2 more. He isn’t afraid.
However, Colorado has a better high-end prospect, in my opinion, with Jhoulys Chacin.
He makes Johan Santana look like a pile of puke.
And Chris Carter is an absolute crusher of the red-stitched ball.
I’d guess it may be possible he could move up to Sac near the end of the season, so some of you Oakland/Bay Area located people can check him out.
That guy hit a ball over our scoreboard. I’ve seen that only in BP. Then, hit one over the center field batters eye, which is 415 feet away and stands 30+ feet high, in the same game. And he looked better and better as the year progressed.
Cal league is a hitters league, but our ballpark is not—at all! And he still made it seem like he was playing beerleague slowpitch softball.
Who needs homeruns?
I saw Anderson pitch in the futures game. The espn gun had him at 93-94 with a 96 or two in there. Ive heard from multiple people that the gun was 2-3 mph high, but still, Anderson has plent of velocity. Especially for a lefty. For comparison sake, Cahill topped out at 94 on the gun, and was mostly 89-90. Anderson also threw a couple of big curves with two plane break and picked off two runners. He was kind of all over the place, which is strange given that command is supposed to be his strong suit. Maybe nerves, mabye overthrowing.
I too have read the thread on minorleagueball.com, and honestly, dont know why you bother responding to that guy. His total inability to back his opinions up with anything more than “gut feeling” is ridiculous. Seriously, I dont think hes presented any objective evidence to support his belief that Anderson is overrated. In fact, he seems to turn a deaf ear to all reason, and continually counters solid arguments based on scouting reports and first hand accounts with vague references to unnamed sources and BS about how other posters arent scouts.
Dewey Finn is an attention whore
who posts deliberately controversial opinions about prospects for the sole reason of generating comments in his threads. He is, to all practical purposes, a troll.
I’ve set a policy of no longer responding to anything he says, and I’d encourage everyone else to do the same.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Then he'll become an attention deficit whore
They have good medication for that. It helps you focus better on your STDs.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
I've never seen somebody
that stubborn and ignorant. He doesnt give any reasonable defense because he knows he doesnt have one, so he tries to change the subject and/or play the victim role. It’s incredibly annoying.
Never, Never, NEVER give up
Please - we all agree not to talk about Bush on this blog
Zing!
“Oh no, you di’int!!!”
“Oh yes I did!!!”
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
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