Brian Anderson’s conversion to pitching has gone well so far

Two months ago Brian Anderson made the transition from outfielder to pitcher after the 28-year-old former first-round pick hit just .227 in 355 career games. He first headed down to rookie-ball, quickly moved up to Single-A, and then finished the year with a stint at Triple-A, combining to throw 17.1 innings with a 2.08 ERA and 17/5 K/BB ratio while allowing just 10 hits and zero homers. Anderson probably would have spent at least part of the second half in the majors had he remained an outfielder, but explained to Daniel Paulling of the Kansas City Star that he simply not longer enjoyed being a position player:

I grew up as a pitcher. I was always a pitcher. Hitting was always secondary to me. I went to [college] more as a pitcher. I was given an opportunity to play center, and I went eight for my first 10 and never looked back. It’s not about being in the big leagues. I should never dread going to the baseball field, and I kind of was just not excited as I should be. At some point, you have to say screw it and do what makes you happy.

Anderson is on the 40-man roster and making $700,000 this season, but it’ll be interesting to see if the Royals continue to protect him this offseason. The early results are certainly encouraging and it sounds like he has legitimate raw stuff, including a fastball that can reach the mid-90s.