It isn't difficult to find those who would heap praise on this young
southpaw. Scouts, teammates, and opposing hitters are all impressed with
the way Brett Anderson handles himself on the mound.
He's looked outstanding so far," praises Wellington Cepeda, Anderson's
pitching coach in South Bend. "Giving me innings, throwing a lot of
strikes, getting people out, and attacking the zone. Our hitting
philosophy and pitching philosophy is attacking the zone and controlling the
zone, so that's what he's doing."
One of the main benefits of drafting high school players is the ability to
have them receive top-notch coaching during their formative years, rather than
have them stunt their development under less experienced coaches who are more
focused on winning games. By so quickly adopting the organizational
philosophies and showing himself to be coachable, Anderson could be paving the
way for other high school players to get second looks from the Diamondbacks in
this year's draft.
Frankly, the idea is that high schoolers take longer to develop that college
players, but that hasn't been the case with Anderson.
"He pitches at a much higher level than his age and experience in pro ball
would show," explains Frank Curreri, who was Anderson's primary catcher in
April. "He's a smart kid; knows what he want to throw and knows how to
throw it. [Anderson] knows how to pitch, which is rare for an 19-year old kid's first real year in pro ball."
"As far as a raw, 19-year old
first year pitcher, he's as good as I've seen, probably in all four years I've
been in pro ball."
Anderson's stuff and mechanics are so good already, that the organization
isn't even messing with his pitching right now. With the kid among the
Midwest League leaders in nearly every statistical category, what's there to
fix?
"It's not so much my pitches; it's holding runners and doing the little
things right now," Anderson answered when we asked him what his coaches were
emphasizing. "As far as pitching, they haven't really keyed one aspect of
it. More so holding runners, fielding bunts - things of that nature."
"Hopefully, I can just continue with the success I've had so far."
Premium subscribers can view Brett Anderson's full
Prospect Profile,
including a detailed scouting report on his repertoire and a comparison between
he and Dodgers' phenom Clayton Kershaw.