What does Tyler Anderson bring to the Seattle Mariners?

The Seattle Mariners swooped up Tyler Anderson during yesterday’s exciting game against the Houston Astros in somewhat of a surprising way. Anderson was set to pack his bag for Philadelphia but the trade fell through over medical reports of a Phillies prospect.

The Seattle Mariners sent Carter Bins and Joaquin Tejada to Pittsburgh to acquire the 31-year-old southpaw. Anderson does become a free agent at the end of the season so this is a rental addition unless we decide to extend him. So, what does the veteran lefty bring to Seattle?

Who is Tyler Anderson? What is Tyler Anderson? And what will he do for the Seattle Mariners?

How would I describe Tyler Anderson? I consider him a veteran pitcher who has done a good job of being consistently average. Probably not very intriguing of a description but that’s what he is to me.

He doesn’t have flashy stuff, doesn’t strike out batters often, and isn’t an ace. But, he does provide the Mariners some much-needed support in the back end of the starting rotation as the staff tries to get healthy.

With Justin Dunn, Justus Sheffield, and James Paxton on the shelf, the M’s have relied on bullpen days and short-term stopgaps like Darren McCaughan.

While I applaud McCaughan’s efforts and impressing in his big league debut, he clearly wasn’t the answer. And as Jamey Vinnick noted, bullpen days just haven’t worked for Seattle.

So, Anderson comes in to provide some balance and hopefully be a guy Scott Servais can rely on to provide five to six innings of solid pitching. With the Pirates, Anderson posted a 4.35 ERA, 5-8 record, and 86 strikeouts in 103.1 innings.

He ranked in the 67th percentile in average exit velocity, 74th percentile in hard-hit rate, 84th percentile in walk rate, 73rd percentile in chase rate, and 81st percentile in fastball spin rate. But, he did rank in the 37th percentile in xwOBA and xERA, 22nd percentile in xBA, and 34th percentile in whiff rate.

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In a way, you could compare him to Marco Gonzales. Anderson won’t walk batters but doesn’t really have the put-away stuff like Yusei Kikuchi. Anderson throws a 90.2 mph fastball on average and throws it 39.3% of the time/

The former first-round pick’s second favorite pitch is his cutter which he throws 29.1% of the time. His changeup is his go-to offspeed which he throws 24.0% of the time. And of those three pitches, batters hit .256, .229, and .253 respectively.

I don’t know why it was so hard to find a recent quality video of Tyler Anderson so I pulled one from 2016 in case you haven’t seen him pitch. He does have an awkward pause which he uses to his advantage, but he relies a lot on his location, like any pitcher.

So, what are my expectations for Tyler Anderson? Honestly, if he just keeps up what he has been doing for the Pirates, I’d be happy. We just need a guy to really eat innings and keep us in ballgames, unlike the last two games against the Astros.

Anderson has only been in the league for six years despite being 31-years-old, but he understands how to pitch like a 10-year veteran. Although he hasn’t lived up to the 20th overall pick in the 2011 draft, he’s been good enough for contenders to take a look at.

What do I think of the trade? What did the Seattle Mariners give up?

Jerry Dipoto sent over Carter Bins and Joaquin Tejada to Pittsburgh. Bins have been solid this year in Everett, and recently Arkansas. According to FanGraphs, he is the 28th ranked prospect in the Seattle Mariners organization.

The former 11th round pick in the 2019 draft isn’t a “top” prospect per see, but he has a chance to rise up the ranks in the Pirates organization.

As far as Tejada, this is honestly the first time I have heard of him and I am not afraid to admit that. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Tejada signed with Seattle out of Panama during the 2019-2020 signing period. He is 18-years-old and is a low-level lottery ticket.

That being said, I think it’s a pretty good deal for the Seattle Mariners. In our most recent mock trade for Tyler Anderson, Chris O’Day was almost spot on with a mock trade. He expected Carter Bins and Milkar Perez to be sent to the Pirates for Tyler Anderson, so last night’s news is better than we expected.