Mired in slump, Anderson is out to regain his rookie form
MIAMI – One of the Marlins’ most talented young players, Brian Anderson hasn’t been immune to the team’s anemic offensive start.
After finishing fourth in National League Rookie of the Year voting last season, the 25-year-old third baseman has experienced a sophomore slump through the first quarter of the season.
Viewed as a core piece of the team’s rebuild, Anderson was one of Miami’s most productive players in 2018, hitting .273/.357/.400 with a .333 wOBA, 34 doubles and 11 home runs in 670 plate appearances.
Through the first 41 games of 2019, Anderson’s slash line has dipped to .224/.308/.296 with a .273 wOBA, five doubles and two home runs. The third baseman, who finished 35th among all NL position players in wRC+ (113) last season, has slipped to 100th this season (73). MARLINS 8, METS 6:
His struggles come with the team last in most offensive categories and off to a league-worst 10-31 record entering Friday night.
“Obviously, it hasn’t been the greatest start for a lot of us — myself included,” Anderson said. “I’ve been trying to do a little bit too much at the plate. Our offense has been scuffling a little bit this year here and there.
“I think for me, I’m trying to take more of a position in the middle of the lineup and I think sometimes I want to do a little too much at the plate. I’m maybe trying to hit the ball a little too far or too hard or whatever the case may be.”
Breaking down the analytics behind his figures, there’s not significant deviation across the board. His hard hit rate, barrel percentage and exit velocity are all the same or better than last season.
Anderson’s walk rate is up from 9.3% to 11%. His swing and contact rates for pitches inside the strike zone are nearly identical.
Where you begin to see the difference is with pitches outside the zone. While his outside-swing rate has increased by 2.7%, his contact rate has dropped 12.5%.
“Pitchers have been doing a good job the way they’re pitching me, trying to get me to chase outside the zone,” Anderson said. “For me, it’s about making sure I’m getting good pitches within the strike zone to hit and just putting a nice, easy simple swing on it.
“I’m just working on shortening up my swing, trying to simplify things a little bit. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of actually swinging at strikes; it’s just a matter of getting my body in position to hit those pitches.”
In terms of pitch selection, most of Anderson’s struggles this season have come on fastballs and offspeed pitches.
While he’s hitting better against breaking balls (.267 vs. .219), his batting average versus off-speed has dipped from .226 to .083.
Against fastballs, which account for 60.9% his pitches, he’s down from .307 to .241.
Following Anderson’s standout rookie campaign, Marlins manager Don Mattingly thinks teams have taken note of the youngster, making adjustments the more they’ve seen him.
“I think you see a lot more respect,” Mattingly said of the way teams are pitching to Anderson. “I think a lot of teams last year as the season went on, they knew this guy was swinging really good and was a good player.
“In general, he’s really trying hard. He’s a kid who’s tough on himself and wants to be good. He’s frustrated when he’s not going good. That advice [Miguel Rojas] is giving [to be more relaxed] is good for him because you’re going to swing the bat better if you’re in a relaxed mode and trying harder is sometimes not the best thing out there.”
While Anderson is hitting .172 in May, he’s shown signs of regaining his prior form. In April, he batted .272, highlighted by a stretch where he hit safely in 15 of 17 games.
Despite being toggled between third base and right field, Anderson has excelled defensively. Thanks in part to his incredibly strong arm, the 25-year-old has been one of the top National League third baseman, ranking second in Ultimate Zone Rating, third in Defensive Runs Saved and first in Revised Zone Rating.
Padres: Ian Kinsler says he regrets using profanity during an emotional outburst after hitting a pivotal three-run home run Thursday night and maintained he was firing up his teammates and not taking a shot at fans. Kinsler hollered and gestured as he touched the plate in the 4-3 win against the Pirates, and again in the dugout. Kinsler has been criticized by fans as he’s struggled since joining the Padres on an $8 million, two-year deal. Many fans, particularly on social media, felt it was directed at them. “The only thing that I do regret is doing it on the field in front of everybody, so everyone can interpret it their own way,” Kinsler said.
Athletics: Frankie Montas pitched two-run ball into the ninth inning as Oakland beat Detroit for the 14th straight meeting in a 7-2 victory. Montas (5-2) pitched a career-best 82⁄3 innings, allowing four hits while striking out a careerhigh 10. Lou Trivino relieved and got the final out after Montas allowed an RBI double to Miguel Cabrera. Mark Canha and Chad Pinder homered for the A’s, and Khris Davis had three hits. Oakland’s winning streak against Detroit is tied for the fifth-longest in franchise history, two short of a 16-game streak over the Yankees from 1989-91. Detroit has lost the first five games of a 10game homestand and has been outscored 48-11 in the process. Cabrera’s ninthinning double tied him with Lou Gehrig for 63rd place with 2,721 career hits.
Marlins: The Marlins scored for the first time in 27 innings, pounded Jacob deGrom for seven runs and snapped a seven-game losing streak by beating the Mets 8-6. Garrett Cooper’s two-run single in the third brought home Miami’s first runs since Saturday — also against deGrom. Jorge Alfaro hit a 456-foot home run, only the Marlins’ second homer this month, and drove in three. Brian Anderson doubled twice and scored twice. DeGrom (3-5) gave up nine hits, and the run total against him was a season high. DeGrom’s ERA rose from 3.26 to 3.98.
Twins: The team placed Nelson Cruz on the 10-day injured list with a strained left wrist that was showing improvement but not enough to avoid sidelining the slugger. The move Friday was retroactive to last Tuesday. The expectation is Cruz should be ready to go when the 10 days expire and he’s likely to rejoin the lineup May 24 when Minnesota returns home to host the White Sox. Cruz had missed four straight games due to the wrist strain. Cruz said if it was later in the season, he would play through it. Minnesota recalled Luis Arraez from Triple-A Rochester.
Dodgers: Cody Bellinger hit the last of Los Angeles’ four homers, Rich Hill stuck out a season-high 10 and the Dodgers won their fourth in a row 6-0 over the Reds. Corey Seager, Joc Pederson and Max Muncy also homered at one of the Dodgers’ most comfortable road stops. They’re 34-22 at Great American Ball Park. Bellinger also had a double, raising his batting average to .410 . ... The Dodgers put Kenta Maeda on the 10-day injured list after he hurt his left thigh.