Brett Anderson

Anderson battled back after several injury-plagued seasons to clear 175 innings for the first time since 2015. He won 13 games on a playoff team with a 3.89 ERA, though he was barely usable in the rotisserie game given his ultra-low strikeout rate (12.1%). The lefty racked up a mere 90 strikeouts, 24 fewer than any other qualified starter. He made up for the lack of swing and miss to an extent with a low walk rate and by trimming his home-run rate in a record-setting HR season in Major League Baseball. Anderson is a sinkerball pitcher with a career groundball rate pushing 57%, and he was still right up near that mark in 2019. He joined the Brewers in free agency, and the move from cavernous Oakland Coliseum to Miller Park takes away most of his appeal as a streamer. He'll be a last resort in weeks where you're desperate for a win.

Anderson inked a minor-league deal with the A's just one week before the season, reuniting with the team he debuted with in 2009. The lefty opened the year in the minors but earned a spot in the big-league rotation at the start of May after posting a 1.89 ERA and 25:2 K:BB across four minor-league starts (19 innings). Following his promotion, Anderson, who had been limited to just 66.2 innings over the prior two seasons due to injuries, was once again bitten by the injury bug. He spent more than two months on the disabled list due to shoulder and forearm issues. When healthy, Anderson struggled with consistency, finishing the year with a 4-5 record and 4.48 ERA across 17 starts (80.1 innings). He posted an ERA north of 6.40 in two months but also notched a 2.15 ERA in August. Entering his age-31 season, Anderson remains a risky fantasy option given his extensive injury history coupled with his inability to miss bats (5.3 K/9 in 2018).

Anderson was signed by the Cubs as a rotation depth option last offseason, but he made just six starts before getting placed on the 60-day DL with a back injury. Once he was activated in late July, the Cubs designated him for assignment and released him, opening the door for Anderson to ink a minor-league deal with Toronto. He fared better with the Jays, but still fell short of his FIP (3.82) with a 5.13 ERA over his seven starts. Injuries have robbed Anderson of significant time throughout his big-league career. While a team looking to get decent innings in the back of the rotation at an affordable price might be inclined to sign him as a starter, a move to the bullpen may extend his career, and could help his bid to stay healthy with the expectation of 50-60 innings instead of 150-plus. Additionally, an increase in velocity on his fastball could make that pitch more effective, and a shift to relief work could also allow him to scrap his curveball if desired.

His fragility is an old joke at this point, but like a sketch on Saturday Night Live, tell the joke enough times and it becomes funny again. Anderson deserves credit for the 180 innings that he pitched as recently as 2015, but that was the only campaign that saw more than 45 frames from the southpaw since 2011, and to count on anything more than a handful of starts constitutes naive optimism at this point. Even when he is on the mound, the lack of strikeouts often leave Anderson vulnerable to the whimsy of balls in play, denting his fantasy value by making him at best a three-category pitcher but one with the downside to adversely impact ratios. There is little incentive to drafting the lefty at this point even after joining the reigning world-champion Cubs, unless playing in a league that has a half-dozen DL spots.

Signed to a one-year, incentive-laden deal last winter, the notoriously oft-injured Anderson gave the Dodgers everything they could have asked for and perhaps more, setting career highs in starts (31) and innings (180.3) while posting a 3.69 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. His 5.8 K/9 was a career low, but Anderson's GB/FB was an elite 4.5 and he maintained solid control (2.3 BB/9). His 90.7 mph average fastball was in line with his career average, and though he finished on a down note in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Mets (3 IP, 6 ER), that shouldn't detract from what was overall a solid season. It was impressive to see what he was able to do as a relatively miscast No. 3 starter (due to the injuries to Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy). Anderson accepted the club's one-year $15.8 million qualifying offer in November but an injury once again stole the headlines this offseason, as he is slated to miss three to five months with a bulging disk in his back. Given that timetable, it is tough to invest in Anderson in most formats.

The Rockies took a major risk in acquiring the polished, yet injury-prone Anderson from the Athletics last winter, but the gambit looked like it would pay off by midseason, as the lefty emerged as a veritable staff ace with a 2.84 ERA and 60 percent groundball rate over four July outings. Unfortunately, it was a fractured pinkie and eventual season-ending back surgery in August that added yet another chapter to Anderson’s extensive injury history, preventing him from topping the 100-inning mark for the fourth consecutive season. Despite their annual need for pitching help and the flashes of frontline potential Anderson demonstrated last season, the Rockies were unwilling to pick up his $12 million option due to his continued inability to stay healthy. The Dodgers signed him to an incentive-laden one-year deal in December, where he will get an opportunity to get his career back on track.

Anderson added to his injury-prone reputation by throwing just 44.2 innings in 2013 after suffering an ankle injury early in the season and never fully recovering. The difference in his 2013 campaign was that when he did actually pitch, he wasn't even remotely effective. Anderson compiled a 6.04 ERA in 2013 while making five starts and 11 relief appearances. The A's hoped he would provide a presence in the back end of the bullpen while also saving his arm, but his ERA was 4.71 as a reliever. Anderson does have a ton of potential and upside (he still struck out more than a batter per inning in 2013), but the likelihood of him ever cashing in on it lessens each season. The Rockies acquired Anderson in December, with the hope that he'll be able to overcome the injury bug and having to pitch half of his games at Coors Field.

Anderson made a very successful return from Tommy John surgery and immediately slotted in as the A's ace down the stretch, making six regular season starts while compiling an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP around 1.00. He did suffer a strained oblique in September, but looked fully recovered from that with a very effective outing in the ALDS. The main concern with Anderson is that his strikeout rate has never been as high as it was a rookie. The hope is the that the strikeouts pop back up with full health, and a healthy Anderson has a chance to move into the elite level of arms in the American League.

Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery in July, which is expected to keep him sidelined until at least the All-Star break. He was humming right along with a tidy 2.77 ERA through his first seven starts, allowing 47 hits and a 35:8 K:BB over 48.2 innings, and tossing in a solid eight-inning start against the Angels in late May before leaving a start a week later and never returning. Anderson's arsenal featured a nasty slider prior to the injury, so it will be interesting to see how well and how often he's able to throw it upon his return. It's unlikely that he'll offer much more than 90 innings or so in 2012, but those in keeper leagues where Anderson is available won't want to forget about him.

Anderson battled elbow problems for most of the first half of the season, limiting him to six starts before the All-Star break and just 19 overall. His strikeout rate dipped upon his return, perhaps a concession that his nasty slider was putting too much strain on his arm, as he fanned just 53 batters over his final 81.2 innings after returning from his second stint on the DL. His excellent control and home ballpark, combined with the A's offseason focus on getting more offense, should place him among the AL's elite if he can stay healthy, even if he doesn't approach 200 strikeouts in a full season.

Anderson earned a spot in the A's rotation with a strong spring despite just six starts above Single-A entering the season. He was the A's ace by mid-season, posting a 3.48 ERA, 1.193 WHIP and a superb 86:20 K:BB rate over his final 14 starts covering 88 innings. He carved up righties, holding them to a .247 BAA and fanning 114 in 130.1 innings. He seems destined to be the next A's ace and should build upon a nice rookie season.

Anderson continued to rocket through the minors, starting six games at Double-A Midland as a 20-year old. His composite season totals (105 innings, 95 hits, 27 walks, 118 Ks) and projectable frame (6'4 and left-handed) gives the A's a legit No. 1 starter prospect. A mid-season promotion to Triple-A Sacramento is all but a given, lining him up for a 2010 major-league debut.

A 2006 second-round pick, Anderson has an excellent strikeout rate and command which drew a mid-season promotion to High-A Visalia and put him on the keeper league radar. The 6-4 southpaw finished his first season as a pro with a 125:21 K:BB ratio in 120.1 combined innings between Low- and High-A, which is even more impressive when you consider that Anderson was just 19 years old. His command and mound presence are well above average for his level of experience, a byproduct of his background as the son of highly-regarded college pitching coach - and current Oklahoma State manager - Frank Anderson. Anderson wasn't as lights out after his promotion to High-A, but he's got the potential to move fast through Oakland's system after coming over from Arizona in the Dan Haren trade.