Meet The New Guys: Chase Anderson

The Blue Jays acquired Chase Anderson (age 32) in a trade for minor league outfielder Chad Spanberger in November. The right handed starter Anderson spent the last four seasons as a member of the Brewers after debuting with the Diamondbacks. He has a career ERA of 3.94 and a career WHIP of 1.26, and the Jays will be more than satisfied with that kind of a season from him.

Anderson missed time in May due to a cut on his pitching hand, but played out the rest of the season with a 4.21 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP and 124 strikeouts over 139.0 innings. Anderson’s best season came in 2017, with an ERA of 2.74 over 140.0 innings alongside an 8.5 k/9. Over his career Anderson has proven his ability to limit walks, but one aspect Anderson must work to improve in a Blue Jay uniform will be limiting hits allowed. His hits per nine innings last season was 8.2, and his move to the Rogers Centre; which is a much more hitter friendly ballpark, will likely necessitate him limiting contact. In particular, the hope is that he will reduce home runs allowed, as last season Toronto had the highest park factor for the long ball in the entire league.

In 2019, Anderson reduced his usage of his curveball to a career low in percentage use, and instead threw career highs in cutters and changeups. This improved approach aims to mirror the success that Kyle Hendricks had in Chicago with a similar arsenal. Though his fastball velocity (which sits on average at 93 MPH) will not appear at the top of the list, his ability to keep hitters guessing will most likely be the determining factor in the success that Anderson has in 2020.

The expectation is that Chase Anderson will break camp this spring as the third or fourth starter for the team. With the Jays adding other starters, such as fellow right hander Tanner Roark and former Dodger, Hyun-Jin Ryu, this is a much improved Toronto rotation, and one that may be able to carry the team much further than people expect. Even if his numbers stagnate from last season, the addition of Chase Anderson will prove to be valuable for the Blue Jays.