Dodgers’ Chris Anderson and the Increasing Value of Relief Pitching

The 18^th overall pick in the 2013 draft, some of the chatter surrounding Chris Anderson coming out of college was that the big 6’3” righty might profile better as a late-inning reliever considering his high nineties fastball, lack of command and lack of a third pitch.

Flash-forward three years and not a whole lot has changed.

Aside from a promising start in Low A ball, Anderson has not logged an ERA below 4.00 or a WHIP below 1.4 at any stop so far in his career as a starter. Some of the problems he’s faced include not being able to command his powerful fastball/slider combo through multiple innings and having a fringy change-up with inconsistent delivery as his third pitch.

Shocker.

None of this is to say that Anderson shouldn’t have been given the chance to start. As long as he continued his development, his ceiling was that of a front-end starter. But despite his hot start in Low A and his durability, he seems to have hit a wall. If everything breaks right he could still have a future as a back-of-the-rotation, workhorse starter in the majors, but is that the best thing for him?

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The success of the Kansas City Royals has changed the market for relievers. Their strategy of shortening the game with a dominant late-inning trio has been proven to be a winning one, inevitably opening the door for imitators to follow suit. Just look at the haul of prospects it took to pry Craig Kimbrel away from San Diego. The positional value of developing as a starter vs. a reliever is slowly diminishing, and Anderson is in a position to capitalize on that.

By moving to the AAA Oklahoma City bullpen and allowing him to red-line his pitches over the course of one or two innings, he could prove himself as a dominant relief pitcher and make an impact on the major league roster as early as this season. One of the big question marks for the Dodgers this season is their bullpen, so if Anderson can prove himself in AAA, there will likely be a spot available for him in the big leagues. This will allow him to start his major league clock at a time when the value of his services has never been higher.

Next: Dodgers Rate Highly in Keith Law's Prospect List

The Dodgers management is all about hoarding talent, whether it’s baseball talent or intellectual talent. I think it’s likely that at least one of the big brains in the front-office has noticed the success of the Royals’ formula and has adjusted their internal metrics accordingly to account for that success. If that’s the case then expect to see a lot of Chris Anderson coming on in relief during Spring Training.