Ian Anderson's stuff

Nerfherders said:
Anderson seems to have this unique mix of fastball/change where they both come out at the same armslot and trajectory, except the change goes down and is 8 mph slower. If he can K Soto on a change right down the middle, I feel like it has to be that it comes out EXACTLY like the fastball, and the hitters have no idea which is which until it's too late.
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Yeah. This is the idea of tunneling. It's been speculated that Anderson is likely really good at this which makes his stuff play up. I do wonder if the straight over the top delivery helps with it.
 
The thing is that a 3/4 is a good thing. That has a lot of value if he’s good in that t th ole. Think about how hard it’s been to find a few pitchers that belong in a major league rotation. Long term we have a lot. Soroka and Fried are top end of the rotation talents. They’ve shown that. I just hope Soroka comes all the way back. If Anderson is a 3 we have a great foundation long term.
 
I missed most of Anderson's start but it looks like the walks came in a burst and that he settled down and got locked in. That seems to track with what I remember from the minors. The walks come in bunches for him.

That actually gives me hope of better control in the future as it's hopefully a matter of consistency that will improve with more experience.
 
thewupk said:
Yeah. This is the idea of tunneling. It's been speculated that Anderson is likely really good at this which makes his stuff play up. I do wonder if the straight over the top delivery helps with it.
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There’s a metric out there that rates how good a pitcher tunnels 2 pitches. It basically measures how well each pitch tracks with each other before ending up far apart at the plate. No idea where to find it anymore though.

Couple that supposedly good tunneling (deception) with his elite extension and that may be the key to his stuff playing up, especially when he locates it well.
 
Enscheff said:
There’s a metric out there that rates how good a pitcher tunnels 2 pitches. It basically measures how well each pitch tracks with each other before ending up far apart at the plate. No idea where to find it anymore though.

Couple that supposedly good tunneling (deception) with his elite extension and that may be the key to his stuff playing up, especially when he locates it well.
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https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/sortable/index.php?cid=2837683 ?

They don't have any 2020 data that I can see.
 
Enscheff said:
There’s a metric out there that rates how good a pitcher tunnels 2 pitches. It basically measures how well each pitch tracks with each other before ending up far apart at the plate. No idea where to find it anymore though.

Couple that supposedly good tunneling (deception) with his elite extension and that may be the key to his stuff playing up, especially when he locates it well.
Click to expand...

*extention.
 
Enscheff said:
There’s a metric out there that rates how good a pitcher tunnels 2 pitches. It basically measures how well each pitch tracks with each other before ending up far apart at the plate. No idea where to find it anymore though.

Couple that supposedly good tunneling (deception) with his elite extension and that may be the key to his stuff playing up, especially when he locates it well.
Click to expand...

Interesting... would love to see how they rate Ian's fastball/change combo. I'm sure it's good, because you can see that the hitters can't tell between the two. Let's hope it stays that way...
 
Hitters will tell you how good your stuff is and they clearly aren't able to tell the difference between the change and fastball.

That being said, as players get more ABs against him I expect them to be fooled less. Which is why that curve being effective will be so important for him. That third offering to keep guys just that much more off balance.
 
I think pitching ninja did a FB/Change overlay from his first start. Looked really good. It was from the traditional broadcast angle though, not from the perspective of the hitter.
 
Enscheff said:
This has to be the most straw grasping "fact" I've seen in a while haha.

So basically...he's had 2 very good starts in his first 4 appearances.
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He's probably the first pitcher over the last 120 years to allow one hit or less in two starts of at least 6.0 innings, and also post one start of fewer than 4.0 innings, in his first four career appearances.
 
jpx7 said:
He's probably the first pitcher over the last 120 years to allow one hit or less in two starts of at least 6.0 innings, and also post one start of fewer than 4.0 innings, in his first four career appearances.
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While pitching within 5 days of a full moon in 2 of those starts after the 3rd start happened on a Thursday in September of a non-leap year.

Remarkable! What a talent! We are witnessing history folks!
 
Enscheff said:
While pitching within 5 days of a full moon in 2 of those starts after the 3rd start happened on a Thursday in September of a non-leap year.

Remarkable! What a talent! We are witnessing history folks!
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Lunar cycling and zodiac augury are definitely the next frontier of #analytics.

As it is, the Sweet Science of Hitting is basically just rhabdomancy.
 
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Based off my professional analysis, cross referencing it with SportsCenter highlights, and my mom’s subscription to ESPN magazine, I’ve concluded he will be a DH at best.
 
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