Dodgers #3 Starter: Alex Wood or Brett Anderson?

Oct 1, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Brett Anderson (35) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Brett Anderson- 10-9, 3.69 ERA (3.94 FIP), 1.331 WHIP, 9.7 H/9, .9 HR/9, 2.3 BB/9, 5.8 K/9

Anderson was finally able to stay healthy and put up solid numbers for a number five starter. Unfortunately, due to injuries, Anderson was pretty much the number three starter on the Dodgers this season so his numbers jump out a little less. He was still solid and pitched 18 quality starts in 31 starts, both of which are much more than the Dodgers probably expected from him.

Anderson threw about 26 fewer innings this year than he did if you combine his inning totals from the previous four seasons. Having not pitched that much in years, it’s not surprising that his numbers declined as the season progressed. March/April was weird and Anderson had a 5.49 ERA, but he bounced back with ERAs of 2.27 and 2.67 in May and June. After a still solid 3.14 ERA in June, it skyrocketed to 4.41 in August and 5.14 in the final month of the season.

Anderson finished with solid numbers and registered a 66.3 percent ground ball rate, which is the highest by any pitcher since 2006, when Derek Lowe got 67 percent of batters to hit ground balls. Anderson’s .310 BABIP falls in line with being a ground ball pitcher, especially considering how iffy he is at fielding his position.

Anderson, for the most part, kept the Dodgers in every game he pitched this season. He only allowed more than four runs three times, but two of those outings came in his last three starts. It’s sort of surprising considering this is his seventh season, but Anderson has never thrown a pitch against the Mets in the past.

Next: I still have no clue