Tim Anderson

[oldsox]

I was surprised by pick. Where did our FS experts have him rated? Just one year of big time success at an obscure Junior College, but I'm sure Sox did the homework.....

[caulfield12]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,1326565.story

[NorthSideSox72]

I was surprised by pick. Where did our FS experts have him rated? Just one year of big time success at an obscure Junior College, but I'm sure Sox did the homework.....

Here is the FS article about him. There was also a really nice piece on BA with his backstory.

 

[caulfield12]

from baseballamerica.com (don't have access to the "insider story")

 

So far, comparisons to Brandon Phillips, the good Orlando Hudson and Billy Hamilton, as well as his own self-comparison to Jose Reyes

 

 

 

17. CHICAGO WHITE SOX

PICK VALUE: $2,164,000

 

TIM ANDERSON, SS, EAST MISSISSIPPI CC (@TimAnderson7)

Area Scout: Warren Hughes

 

PICK ANALYSIS: There’s a run on shortstops, which isn’t a surprise as there are so few in this year’s draft.

 

 

Tim Anderson

SCOUTING REPORT: It’s a banner year for Mississippi junior colleges, and Anderson has a chance to become the highest-drafted such player in a June draft. A Tuscaloosa, Ala., native, Anderson missed much of his high school baseball career due to basketball, first because of knee injuries as a sophomore, then because of a state title run as a junior that overlapped much of baseball season. He focused on baseball in junior college and hit .328 with five home runs in the Jayhawk League last summer. He has followed up by showing solid power this spring to go with his other prodigious tools. Anderson stands out in a draft class light on middle infielders. Scouts aren’t sold that he’ll stick at shortstop thanks to average arm strength. He has middle-infield actions and needs repetition at the pro level to see where he’ll stick. His athleticism and plus-plus speed would play in center field. Some scouts see power in Anderson’s bat and consider him a potential Brandon Phillips, while others see him as a faster version of Orlando Hudson. Either way, Anderson will be the first or second middle infielder picked and won’t be following through on his commitment to Alabama-Birmingham.

 

WHERE HE FITS: Tim Anderson could crack next year’s Prospect Handbook as Chicago’s top prospect. If he’s not, it will at least be a spirited debate.

[Jake]

Tim Anderson retweeted my article on him. I consider that a ringing endorsement

[ShandyMan]

Premium position, exceptional speed, chance to have an above-average bat, and favorable age.

 

 

I'm cool with this.

[Jim Busby]

Tim Anderson retweeted my article on him. I consider that a ringing endorsement

 

Lets hope he (Tim Anderson) signs with the White Sox and agrees to stay always from Steve Lakes and his company of hitting instructors. We get average or better hitters in the Draft and Steve Lake and company show them how to how to become strike out prospects. Get rid of that poor former major league catcher (Steve Lake a .225 hitter) and replace him for someone like Joey Corra who at lease hit over .260 in the majors and can talk to the Latin Players in their own language.

[witesoxfan]

Lets hope he (Tim Anderson) signs with the White Sox and agrees to stay always from Steve Lakes and his company of hitting instructors. We get average or better hitters in the Draft and Steve Lake and company show them how to how to become strike out prospects. Get rid of that poor former major league catcher (Steve Lake a .225 hitter) and replace him for someone like Joey Corra who at lease hit over .260 in the majors and can talk to the Latin Players in their own language.

 

Rudy Jaramillo is considered by many to be a very good hitting coach. It even earned him $800k a year from the Cubs.

 

Funny part is that Jaramillo never played in the majors. He played in the minors and had a career minor league batting average of .258. Above rookie league ball (he hit .365 as a 22 year old), he hit .243 in the minors.

 

s***, Jeff Manto was a .230 hitter, though, to be fair, when he played he hit for power. He actually had a pretty nice year in 1995 for Baltimore.

 

Don Cooper had a career ERA of 5.27, and he's considered to be a top 5 (if not top 3, if not the best) pitching coach in the league.

 

Point being you don't have to be a successful major leaguer to be a good coach. You can't turn chickens*** into chicken dinner.

Edited June 7, 2013 by witesoxfan

[Jim Busby]

Chicago White Sox can't hit in the Majors or in the Minors. Their top minor leaguers are Strike-Out-Kings with very poor averages. Bring in somebody (A good Leader) who can show them how a good average with some power to get you to the majors. Did you really figure out why the Pirates fired Jeff Manto and Seattle get rid of Steve Lake. Hire personnel who can communicate with the hitters (Including the Latin Players and show then the right approach HOW TO HIT A BASEBALL.

[Reddy]

uh oh... another top prospect with the last name Anderson... I'm already skeptical.

[southsider2k5]

Chicago White Sox can't hit in the Majors or in the Minors. Their top minor leaguers are Strike-Out-Kings with very poor averages. Bring in somebody (A good Leader) who can show them how a good average with some power to get you to the majors. Did you really figure out why the Pirates fired Jeff Manto and Seattle get rid of Steve Lake. Hire personnel who can communicate with the hitters (Including the Latin Players and show then the right approach HOW TO HIT A BASEBALL.

 

Coaches get fired all of the time.

[Jim Busby]

Rudy Jaramillo is considered by many to be a very good hitting coach. It even earned him $800k a year from the Cubs.

 

Funny part is that Jaramillo never played in the majors. He played in the minors and had a career minor league batting average of .258. Above rookie league ball (he hit .365 as a 22 year old), he hit .243 in the minors.

 

s***, Jeff Manto was a .230 hitter, though, to be fair, when he played he hit for power. He actually had a pretty nice year in 1995 for Baltimore.

 

Don Cooper had a career ERA of 5.27, and he's considered to be a top 5 (if not top 3, if not the best) pitching coach in the league.

 

Point being you don't have to be a successful major leaguer to be a good coach. You can't turn chickens*** into chicken dinner.

 

 

I did not know Don Copper was our HITTING Coach. Hitting is our problem not Pitching

[caulfield12]

Chicago White Sox can't hit in the Majors or in the Minors. Their top minor leaguers are Strike-Out-Kings with very poor averages. Bring in somebody (A good Leader) who can show them how a good average with some power to get you to the majors. Did you really figure out why the Pirates fired Jeff Manto and Seattle get rid of Steve Lake. Hire personnel who can communicate with the hitters (Including the Latin Players and show then the right approach HOW TO HIT A BASEBALL.

 

 

So then you agree with what the Royals did?

 

Because George Brett is one of the top 3-5 hitters of his generation, and the Charlie Lau philosophy is not power-oriented.

 

Keep in mind, they hired a guy who was in the Mariners' system (Pedro Grifol) for the past 13 years. He speaks Spanish, one of your qualifications....but the "development" Seattle has done with the likes of Smoak, Montero, Saunders, Ackley isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

 

And, we still don't have a slew of Latin American prospects at the upper levels of our minor league system, other than Carlos Sanchez. It's helpful to have a catcher who can communicate with a Hispanic pitcher who can't speak English at all, but most of the prospects now begin learning English at age 14 or at the latest, 16, when most are signed and enter the baseball academies, summer leagues, etc.

 

 

[caulfield12]

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/2013...7?p=1&tc=pg

 

A couple of interesting points came to light on Mr. Anderson.

 

He overcame broken legs twice in his high school basketball career.

 

And Tim wasn't individually brought in for a workout by the White Sox (maybe try to tamper down concerns that showing too much attention as he rose as a prospect through the year would end up with him getting selected before 17th?)

 

He had worked out for the Cardinals and Dbacks, and many thought the Tigers were poised to take him at 20th.

Edited June 9, 2013 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

SECAUCUS, N.J. -- Three hundred sixty-seven days ago, Tim Anderson was playing shortstop for the Dodge City A's of the collegiate summer Jayhawk Baseball League and planning the visits he and his family would make to four-year colleges. He did not watch the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He didn't need to. He'd received no interest from professional teams during high school or his freshman season at East Central (Miss.) Community College and he knew his future as a pro ballplayer, if he had any at all, was a long way off.

 

Thursday night, he was emerging from the first-base dugout at MLB Network's Studio 42, his hands shaking with excitement as he missed a button on his brand-new White Sox jersey after Chicago took him 17th overall. The selection made him the second-ever junior college shortstop taken in the first round of the MLB draft (and the first since 1978, when the Expos took Glen Franklin ninth).

 

A year ago, if someone had come up to him after the game and told him what was in store for him, how would he have responded?

 

"I would've said, man, [you're out of your] mind," Anderson, 19, says with a laugh.

 

He looked utterly overcome all evening, as he struggled to remember when asked who had come to the draft to support him and forgot within seconds of hanging up the phone with White Sox officials whom he had just spoken with.

 

"I don't know," he admits. "I'm too excited to remember anything just now!"

 

He even cried a little -- the first time his parents said they had seen their even-keeled son lose his cool since childhood. And his family felt the same way -- he spent the evening with a splotch of makeup on his shirt collar from where his mother had hugged him too hard after his name was called, and his father announced after bragging about him that he hadn't talked that much in a year.

 

Their emotions are understandable, especially considering the path Anderson took to professional baseball. He played little league, but dropped baseball until his junior year of high school after suffering two knee injuries playing basketball, his other love. (Anderson sent video of himself dunking to scouts to demonstrate his athleticism.) Even then, he couldn't focus on baseball full-time because his Hillcrest High School basketball team kept making the playoffs and delaying the start of his spring season.

 

He decided to choose one sport for junior college, and went to the only school that offered him a scholarship. After a freshman year in which he hit .360 and went 30 for 30 on stolen base attempts, albeit against low-level competition, he realized he had a shot to extend his career beyond a four-year college and redoubled his efforts. He broke out this year, leading all junior colleges with a .495 batting average, slugging .879 and stealing 41 bases. Suddenly there were scouts at every game to watch the All-America refine his play.

 

His parents credit East Central coach Neal Holliman with Anderson's dramatic improvements, but he deflects the praise. "There's no magic wand that we waved over him," says Holliman. "It's just a matter of a kid that's willing to work, that got reps, that got over into one sport and did it over and over and over and just continued to develop."

 

 

So his parents, brothers, sisters, sister-in-law and girlfriend were happy to pile into a van and make the 16-hour drive from Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Wednesday, watch the draft on Thursday and head back on Friday. They briefly considered not accepting MLB's invitation to attend the draft because they were concerned Anderson might be the last player left sitting in the dugout, but calls from scouts convinced them he had a good chance to go early.

 

He did, but it was the team that took him that had Anderson surprised.

 

"It shocked me, to be honest," Anderson says of being drafted by the White Sox, a club he never met with or worked out for. "I really didn't know."

 

Chicago, which sent several evaluators to watch Anderson in person, including executive vice president Kenny Williams and assistant general manager Buddy Bell, had been hoping he would get to them, though.

 

"He was our target," says White Sox scouting director Doug Laumann. "He elevated himself and his stock throughout the season and as it got closer we started to get a little nervous that maybe he wouldn't be the guy, but he's the guy we wanted."

 

The team recognizes that there is some ground for Anderson to make up in terms of experience, but considers him extremely polished given how little he has played. More importantly, Laumann says, he has the things they can't teach.

 

"His instincts for the game were just off-the-charts," he says. "He didn't need to look at base coaches in order to find out if the ball behind him was bobbled."

 

His timing is impeccable, as well: "They called my advisor," Anderson says, "And he texted me and said, Smile." And he did, just as commissioner Bud Selig called his name.

 

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/.../#ixzz2VgtcPqWw

 

 

Seems to be a lot of conflicting stories about his high school injuries. Some reports said two broken legs, yet others are talking about a knee injury he suffered his senior year in high school, related to basketball. Hard to pin down exactly what happened and what the actual injuries were.

 

"but that's against junior college competition. He's only 19 (he turns 20 June 23), and he split time in high school between baseball and basketball. A knee injury in the latter sport prevented him from making the high school team until his junior year, but he proved to be a quick study, first in left field before moving to shortstop." southsidesox.com/jim margaulus

 

Another article stated he suffered a knee injury his senior season. Then there were some stories saying he had two broken legs, which seems less likely than ACL/MCL/PCL injuries, or cartilage damage.

 

 

 

By Tony Tsoukalas

The Meridian Star

Published: Friday, March 1, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 1, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Four years ago, Tim Anderson was a basketball player with two bum knees. Now, he’s the leading force behind the East Central Community College baseball team, batting .639 in the Warriors’ first nine games.

 

The 6-foot-1 shortstop out of Hillcrest High School came into Tuesday’s game against Pensacola State leading the nation in batting average as well as home runs (five). Anderson also has five doubles and three triples to go along with 12 RBIs and is rated the top junior college shortstop in the nation by Baseball America.

 

Right now, incoming fastballs might look like beach balls to the streaking shortstop, but Anderson’s path to success has not always been so clear.

 

During his sophomore season at Hillcrest, Anderson injured both of his knees playing basketball, keeping him out of sports for the remainder of the year.

 

“The knee injury was tough,” Anderson said. “I told my dad, I thought I was going to give up on sports after my second knee injury. I got tired of being injured, and I just got down on myself.”

 

Anderson did not play high school baseball until his junior year. Coming in late, due to the basketball season ending, he was given a spot in left field for the struggling Patriots. After hitting .333 on the season, former Hillcrest baseball coach Todd Agee promised Anderson a spot in the infield (at shortstop).

 

That promise had to be delayed, as Anderson was busy leading the Patriots to a Class 6A state championship in basketball as a point guard. It was Anderson who delivered the go-ahead assist to Perrin Buford in Hillcrest’s 54-50 semifinal win against Carver-Montgomery.

 

Anderson returned to Agee later in the spring and did not disappoint, batting .420 in his senior season.

Edited June 9, 2013 by caulfield12

[oldsox]

Great report Caulfield. Thanks.

[southsider2k5]

Come on Rick, get the guy a few hats!

 

Tony_Tsoukalas ‏@Tony_Tsoukalas 9h

 

Guy at Lids in Tuscaloosa said @TimAnderson7 bought up $500 dollars worth of Chi Sox hats. #WhiteSoxNation

[Jake]

Come on Rick, get the guy a few hats!

 

Tony_Tsoukalas ‏@Tony_Tsoukalas 9h

 

Guy at Lids in Tuscaloosa said @TimAnderson7 bought up $500 dollars worth of Chi Sox hats. #WhiteSoxNation

 

[southsider2k5]

Tim Anderson ‏@TimAnderson7 55m

 

#Chicago✈✈ #2morrow✈✈

[southsider2k5]

Tim Anderson ‏@TimAnderson7 23m

 

I'm Gone Throw A Slider When I Throw The First Pitch at the sox game Wednesday..⚾⚾💪😂

[caulfield12]

Tim Anderson ‏@TimAnderson7 23m

 

I'm Gone Throw A Slider When I Throw The First Pitch at the sox game Wednesday..⚾⚾💪😂

 

 

The White Sox are going to have to hire someone to clean up the grammar on all the players' twitter feeds, lol.

 

Watch him blow out his elbow trying to throw a slider for the first pitch.

 

Wonder if that has ever happened? A first round draft pick getting injured after signing but before playing his first game? With all the weird injuries that have happened in the last decade...?

 

[Balta1701]

The White Sox are going to have to hire someone to clean up the grammar on all the players' twitter feeds, lol.

 

Watch him blow out his elbow trying to throw a slider for the first pitch.

 

Wonder if that has ever happened? A first round draft pick getting injured after signing but before playing his first game? With all the weird injuries that have happened in the last decade...?

The classic example is Canseco pitching for fun in a blowout in like 1992 and blowing out his elbow.

[caulfield12]

The classic example is Canseco pitching for fun in a blowout in like 1992 and blowing out his elbow.

 

 

And the Kendrys Morales one, but that was on the field.

 

Who was the player that was injured by a broken mirror, can't remember?

[southsider2k5]

Mark Gonzales Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales 1m

 

Source: Sox 1st round pick en route to Chicago for signing: http://trib.in/119I2Nm

[caulfield12]

They might as well name go ahead and name Anderson and Hawkins as co-captains, as much leadership as they're getting at the major league level this season.