Twins Find Themselves a Wild One in RP Shaun Anderson

[Nick Nelson]

On Thursday night, the Twins traded for their latest relief pitching project in Shaun Anderson, a big sturdy right-hander with a standout slider in the upper-80s.

 

There's much to like, but some barriers to overcome, which are best exemplified by an incident that took place in San Francisco last August.Anderson is a wild one, and I'm not referring to the long locks pouring out from the back of his baseball cap. In 2020, his first full season (well, "full" season) as a reliever, he issued 12 walks over 15 ⅓ innings, a 7.0 BB/9 average.

 

Obviously it's a ridiculously small sample size, and it doesn't necessarily jibe with his previous track record – he had a 3.6 BB/9 rate in 96 innings as a rookie in 2019, and a 2.3 BB/9 rate in the minors – but the wildness was fully on display last summer and it led to some rather heated moments.

 

In mid-August, the Angels and Giants faced off in back-to-back series at their respective ballparks. On Tuesday night, Anderson entered in the ninth inning with an 8-1 lead. The leadoff man? Mike Trout.

 

Facing the greatest player in the game, Anderson uncorked a pair of mid-90s fastballs that sailed near Trout's head. This one was the second, and it caused a bit of stir, later resulting in Giants manager Gabe Kapler feeling the need to explain afterward: "We don't throw at people. It's not who we are."

 

 

In fairness, the wayward heaters from Anderson did look like pretty clear misfires, and there's not much reason to think he'd be head-hunting a Hall of Famer in his second MLB season.

 

Two days later however, in San Francisco, Anderson faced Trout once again. And once again... drama unfolded:

 

 

This up-and-in fastball from Anderson wasn't quite as close to Trout's helmet, but after what transpired two days earlier, Angels manager Joe Maddon had seen enough. He confronted the umps on the field and later had some harsh words about the Giants reliever.

 

"Enough is enough," Maddon said. "This is the major leagues. There's a level of accountability here also. I don't wanna use the word 'irresponsible' loosely, but in that situation, you pretty much knew it was gonna happen again. And I'm not accusing the guy of doing anything on purpose; I'm just saying he doesn't command his fastball enough in order to know where it's going."

 

Quite the review of Anderson from Maddon there! And it speaks to the main challenge faced by the Twins as they look to work their magic once again. The slider is pretty clearly an overpowering weapon (he threw it 53% of the time last year and held opponents to a .108/.164/.243 with it in a limited sample) but it's not clear he can succeed as a one-trick pony a la Matt Wisler. The fastball has some potential, buzzing in at 94.4 MPH on average and ranking in the 92nd percentile for spin, but Anderson and the Twins are going to need to find a way to rein it in.

 

Luckily, they can be patient. Although Anderson's no spring chicken at age 26, he does have options remaining so the Twins can develop in him in the minors or shuttle him back and forth across 35W as needed.

 

There's something to be unlocked here, and when it comes to this pitcher profile, no team in the majors has proven more adept at turning the key than Minnesota. They've also shown they can help such pitchers succeed in spite of a wild side; Wisler averaged 5.0 BB/9 last year and still posted a 1.07 ERA.

 

In other words, while Shaun Anderson might not be the most glitzy addition, Twins fans should know better by now than to discount it.

 

Maybe keep him out in the pen when the Angels are in town this year, though.

 

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[AceWrigley]

Should keep the hitters on their toes, eh?

[Shaitan]

Another reason he should throw more sliders, I guess. If he can control those (which seems backwards).

[CharlieDee]

After getting burned by the Giants in the Sam Dyson trade, I can't believe we're dealing with them again.  

[rdehring]

Thanks for the information, Nick. Had been wondering what his previous walk rates were after seeing last year's numbers.

[baul0010]

 

After getting burned by the Giants in the Sam Dyson trade, I can't believe we're dealing with them again.  

 

I had already forgotten about that!  They should have thrown in a little extra as a make up gift.

[Physics Guy]

 

After getting burned by the Giants in the Sam Dyson trade, I can't believe we're dealing with them again.  

How exactly did we get "burned" in that trade? I understand that we got very little from Dyson after coming over from SF, but Jaylin Davis has a 0.167 career MLB avg thus far and will be turn 27 in the middle of the upcoming season. LaMonte Wade stands a better chance of being a MLB regular than Davis does. I wish both Davis and Wade well, but they were marginal extras for the Twins and I'm glad they will get a chance with somebody else.

[CharlieDee]

 

How exactly did we get "burned" in that trade? I understand that we got very little from Dyson after coming over from SF, but Jaylin Davis has a 0.167 career MLB avg thus far and will be turn 27 in the middle of the upcoming season. LaMonte Wade stands a better chance of being a MLB regular than Davis does. I wish both Davis and Wade well, but they were marginal extras for the Twins and I'm glad they will get a chance with somebody else.

 We were counting on him for bullpen help as a team going to the playoffs. He gave us nothing. He was terrible from his very first appearance with us.  The Twins F.O. openly questioned weather the Giants had sent us damaged goods. Oh, and we had to take on his $5 million dollar salary....We got burned!

[Physics Guy]

 

 We were counting on him for bullpen help as a team going to the playoffs. He gave us nothing. He was terrible from his very first appearance with us.  The Twins F.O. openly questioned weather the Giants had sent us damaged goods. Oh, and we had to take on his $5 million dollar salary....We got burned!

Ok, I'll give you the salary, but it's more like 1/3 of that since we didn't acquire him until the trade deadline. 

[Dman]

Thanks for the article.  I was wondering how he walked so many guys and I guess now we know why.  Appears to be over-throwing his fastball.  Isn't this somewhat the same issue Poppen was having?  He is going to need two pitches he can rely on to make it so hopefully the Twins can tame him somewhat.  I have my doubts but the FO has made me look bad before so I will wait and see on this one.

[m12589]

Is there a chance that he rides a motorcycle to the mound to the song "Wild Thing"?

[TFRazor]

Maybe he’s having vision issues? Let’s get him some glasses. Worked for Cleveland

[Andrew Bryzgornia]

Back and forth on 94, not 35W.

[LylesCrocodiles]

Anderson did have some success in the rotation in 2019. Maybe he’s AAA rotation depth.

[Fatbat]

I'm excited to see Wes Johnson work his magic again

[Minfidel]

Sure, see what's he got. But someone better get some body armor for Mudonna. 

[Nick Nelson]

 

Back and forth on 94, not 35W.

I said across 35W. Target Field is west of the interstate, St Paul east. So you cross it while traveling on 94.

 

Don't dare challenge my Twin Cities geography Bryz! 

[Long time twins fan]

This ir disappointing as we give up on guys like Hendricks. We just have to try them in all situations before letting another team reap the reward.

[Andrew Bryzgornia]

 

I said across 35W. Target Field is west of the interstate, St Paul east. So you cross it while traveling on 94.

 

Don't dare challenge my Twin Cities geography Bryz! 

 

It appears we had different interpretations of "across." 

 

Maeby: "Do you know where I can get one of those gold necklaces with a 't' on it?" 

Michael: "That's a cross."

Maeby: "Across from where?"