Josh

Anderson

Anderson is batting .312/.353/.391 with 26 steals in 343 at-bats during his second year in the Texas League. Since his walk rate remains unimpressive for a speedster possessing such limited power, he’s no longer much of a candidate to become a regular. However, his stolen base potential might give him fantasy value one of these years.

The Hooks will meet either Wichita or Tulsa in the title series. Anderson, 24, hit .308/.349/.385 with 43 steals this season. He’s probably not going to cut it in the majors as a reserve, but those playing in PCL fantasy leagues should know his name for next year.

Anderson was unable to land a spot on the Reds’ Opening Day roster this spring and was batting just .125 with a 300 OPS in 41 plate appearances at Triple-A Louisville. The 27-year-old will seek employment elsewhere.

Anderson, known a little more for his speed, hit just one homer for Double-A Corpus Christi last season. The 23-year-old is batting .357/.378/.429 with seven steals in 70 at-bats in the AFL. He’s a center fielder with more offensive upside than Willy Taveras, but he doesn’t quite have Taveras’ defensive potential. The Astros could use him as trade bait.

Anderson is at .281/.334/.341 with 31 steals in 36 attempts. The Astros ignored him in favor of Jason Lane when Hunter Pence got hurt. Maybe he’ll be up in September, but he needs to step it up in order to work his way into Houston’s plans.

Anderson doubled once and singled four times while also crossing home plate twice. The speedy center fielder started all three of the Astros’ games with the Pirates this weekend, going 9-for-15 with five RBI. The team might as well give him a few weeks of starts down the stretch, so he’s worth a flier in NL-only leagues.

Anderson’s speed (40 steals in 48 attempts) and defense should guarantee that he has a roster spot for the next few Septembers. However, the 25-year-old didn’t help his chances of finding a permanent job by hitting .273/.325/.340 in Triple-A this year. It looks like he might be nothing more than a fifth outfielder for a team without an exceptional defender in center field.

Anderson had a surprisingly strong September after being called up, hitting .358/.413/.403 in 67 at-bats, but that came after a .273/.325/.340 season in Triple-A. Nothing else the 25-year-old has done lately suggests that he’d be adequate as a major league regular. As a left-handed hitter with great speed on the basepaths and in center field, he could have value as a bench player. However, the Braves didn’t just fill the hole opened up by Andruw Jones’ departure. All they really acquired was another Willie Harris.

We wouldn’t mind the idea of taking a flier on Kotsay if the only cost was the cash, but Devine might have been more help than Kotsay this year, to say nothing of 2009 and beyond. The Braves have to hope Kotsay regains some range in center field following last year’s back surgery. He’s almost certain to be a liability offensively. It’s possible his addition will bump Josh Anderson off the roster, though Anderson could still get a look as a reserve. The A’s can now go with Chris Denorfia in center field and likely will be better off for it, assuming that Denorfia is healthy.