Brian Anderson: Marlin on the Rise

With their pick in the third round of the 2014 MLB draft, the Miami Marlins selected Brian Anderson out of the University of Arkansas.

When Miami drafted Anderson, they saw a massive amount of potential in his bat and his glove and it seems like he will finally get his chance to shine as the Marlins third baseman in 2018.

Following Martin Prado’s setback with his knee injury, Anderson now has the starting job in his control for opening day.

According to MLB Pipeline, the third baseman ranks as Miami’s No. 9 prospect heading into the 2018 season as well as the No. 9 third base prospect in MLB.

The most coveted aspect of Anderson’s game has to be his plus fielding ability as well as his above-average arm strength at the hot corner. He has the makeup to be a solid everyday third baseman.

His bat is also not too shabby, he has shown flashes of brilliance with is power and finds a way to make contact. However, while the potential is there in his bat, Anderson still has to make some improvements to become an offensive force in the big leagues.

It’s tough to try to guess whether or not Anderson will be able to translate his power to the big leagues, but it was a good sign to see this potential finally come to the forefront in 2017.

In 120 games last season split between Double-A and Triple-A, Anderson was able to mash 22 home runs with 81 RBIs while slashing .275/.361/.492 in what could be considered his “coming out party”.

Prior to his 2017 campaign, the third baseman’s previous high for home runs in a season was 11 in the Marlins organization so it is surely a great sign to see him finally tapping into that power potential that Miami saw when they drafted him in 2014.

Thanks to his impressive showing between Double-A and Triple-A Anderson received a call-up to the big leagues in September and couldn’t quite replicate those power numbers.

Through just 25 games, Anderson slashed .262/.337/.369 without a home run and struggled quite a bit in the field. However, he has been able to redeem himself thus far this spring.

Earning himself the opening day third base job, Anderson has knocked out two home runs, hit three doubles and is sporting a .571 slugging percentage. He is definitely showing much more power than he did in his short big league stint in 2017.

Much like with any other prospect it is difficult to assume what kind of impact Anderson will have when he faces the big leagues next season, but it is safe to say that he looks like he will be just fine.

If Brian Anderson lives up to his true potential, the Miami Marlins could have themselves a solid everyday third baseman for years to come.