Tag Archives: Tim Anderson

24 Aug

hot august night

His team has the worst record in the American League, and he’s not having such a good year, either. So that first career walk-off hit on Wednesday night and the subsequent Gatorade shower had to feel pretty good to Tim Anderson. “I’m going to enjoy it and wear it until tomorrow,” the ex-East Central Community College star told csnchicago.com. Anderson’s ninth-inning single scored Avisail Garcia and the Chicago White Sox beat playoff-contender Minnesota 4-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Though his bat has perked up a bit this month, Anderson was in a 1-for-20 slump when he stepped to the plate in the ninth on Wednesday. He is hitting .239 on the year after batting .283 as a rookie in 2016. He has produced 14 homers, 42 RBIs and 49 runs but hasn’t been the base-stealing threat (six bags) he was projected to be as a first-round pick in 2013. At shortstop, Anderson has 25 errors and a .944 fielding percentage, well below league average. But for one night, at least, he soaked in some glory – and some Gatorade. P.S. Cincinnati’s Mississippi-flavored lineup did not produce an appetizing result on Wednesday. The Reds started Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton in center field, Ole Miss product Zack Cozart at short and UM alum Stuart Turner at catcher. Alas, they went 2-for-10 in a 9-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

14 May

these are the times

These are trying times for Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College standout and current Chicago White Sox shortstop. Anderson is away from the team this weekend, attending the funeral of a longtime friend who was shot and killed last weekend in Anderson’s hometown of Tuscaloosa, Ala. Anderson has been struggling on the field most of this season. He is hitting .221 with two homers and two steals in 29 games, and his defense also has been spotty. After a strong rookie season (.283, nine homers, 10 bags) in 2016, Anderson signed a 6-year, $25 million contract in the off-season. The White Sox drafted Anderson 17th overall in 2013, the year he led ECCC to a state championship. Obviously, the organization believes in him and believes he’ll bounce back from this adversity. As manager Rick Renteria told theathletic.com, “Experiences occur and you deal with them and then you hopefully grow with them.” Anderson is scheduled to return to the club on Monday in Anaheim, where they’ll play the Angels. We should wish him well. P.S. Adam Frazier, activated from the disabled list on Friday, was back in the Pittsburgh lineup on Saturday, batting leadoff and playing left field. The ex-Mississippi State star, who had been sidelined with a hamstring injury, went 1-for-5 as the Pirates beat Arizona 4-3 to stop a six-game skid. Utility man Frazier is hitting .291 with five RBIs and five runs.

10 Jun

debut alert

Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson has been called up by the Chicago White Sox and likely will be in the lineup tonight against Kansas City. The highly rated shortstop prospect, 22, was batting .304 with four homers, 20 RBIs and 11 steals at Triple-A Charlotte. Anderson led ECCC to the MACJC championship in 2013 and was drafted in the first round that same year. He was a Southern League All-Star for Birmingham in 2015.

13 May

so close …

With the best record in the American League, the Chicago White Sox don’t appear to need a lot of help at the moment. But when they do, Tim Anderson may be ready. The former East Central Community College standout, now playing at Triple-A Charlotte, had a four-hit game on Thursday that included his first home run of the season. He is batting .333 over his last 10 games to boost his average to .278, and he has 10 RBIs, 20 runs and seven steals over 30 games in his first taste of Triple-A ball. Anderson, 22, a shortstop, started slow this year but is beginning to play like the highly rated prospect that he is. “I’ve been a believer in myself, and I’m just glad the results are showing,” he told milb.com. P.S. Also toiling in Triple-A and looking for that first big league call-up, ex-Mississippi State star Hunter Renfroe is batting .285 with five homers and 20 RBIs at El Paso in the San Diego system. He is close. So, too, is Northwest Mississippi CC product Cody Reed, 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA in five starts at Triple-A Louisville in Cincinnati’s system. And State alum Adam Frazier, playing mostly outfield this year, is hitting .292 for Pittsburgh’s Indianapolis club. Meanwhile, Tyler Moore and Joey Butler are lodged in Triple-A and trying to get back to the The Show. Moore, a State product, is hitting .242 with a homer and 10 RBIs at Gwinnett in Atlanta’s system, while Gulf Coast CC alum Butler, playing for Cleveland’s Columbus team, is at .238 with two homers and 11 RBIs.

25 Mar

buy low

It might be a good time to invest in some Tim Anderson rookie cards. A web site devoted to such things reveals that the average price of a rookie card of the former East Central Community College standout is $4.96. But one card, a “2013 Leaf Draft Superfractor RC Rookie Auto Autograph 1/1,” sold for $58 in January of 2015. Anderson hasn’t played a big league game yet. He was sent down to Triple-A Charlotte by the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, but it won’t be long before the highly rated prospect assumes the shortstop job at Comiskey Park. Could be this summer. A first-round pick (17th overall) out of ECCC in 2013, Anderson put up some great numbers at Double-A Birmingham in 2015: .312, 12 triples, 49 steals, 79 runs and 46 RBIs in 125 games. Some might remember that he homered at Trustmark Park in Pearl in his first Southern League game back in 2014. He has been in the White Sox’s big league spring camp the last two years and made an impression. “The biggest thing for me seeing him in the last couple years is, defensively, he just looks so much better and confident,” ChiSox manager Robin Ventura told mlb.com. Buy low, they say. Might be a good time to load up on some Tim Anderson rookies.

05 Nov

down on the farm

With Alexei Ramirez becoming a free agent, the heir apparent to the Chicago White Sox’s shortstop job in 2016 looks like Tyler Saladino. But lurking on the depth chart, not too far behind, is Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star. Anderson, 22, is rated the White Sox’s No. 1 prospect on mlb.com’s list. His defense may still need some work, but Anderson’s offensive skills are impressive. He batted .312 with five homers, 12 triples, 49 steals, 46 RBIs and 79 runs for Double-A Birmingham this past season, just his third in pro ball. The ChiSox, a disappointing team in 2015, declined to pick up an option for Ramirez, 34, who hit a career-worst .249 with 10 home runs and 62 RBIs. Saladino, 26, batted .225 in 68 games as a rookie last season, playing mostly third base. P.S. The Biloxi Shuckers’ walk-off win in their June 6 home debut was named the MiLBY Game of the Year by milb.com. After playing the first two months of the season on the road, the Shuckers beat Mobile in the 14th inning before a standing room only crowd at MGM Park. Nick Shaw got the game-winning knock.

23 Jul

upwardly mobile

Gloom has gathered over the Chicago White Sox’s season. Fans of the last-place club needing something to brighten their day can look to Double-A Birmingham, where shortstop Tim Anderson is having a star-quality season. Rated by some as the organization’s top prospect entering 2015, the East Central Community College product appears close to being big league-ready. Anderson, 22, the Southern League All-Star Game MVP, is batting .311 with seven triples, 35 RBIs, 53 runs and 35 steals for the Barons. An athletic 6 feet 1, 185 pounds, he is hitting .298 with 69 steals over his three pro seasons. If there is a negative in his offensive numbers, it’s that he doesn’t walk much (15 times this season while serving primarily as a leadoff batter). Reports indicate that Anderson’s defense is steadily improving; in fact, some of the reports are glowing. Anderson made his Double-A debut, with a bang, at Pearl’s Trustmark Park last August. The Barons come to the TeePee again this August (18-22). Of course, by then Anderson might be in Triple-A. P.S. Thirty games into his pro career, LaDarious (aka LeDarious) Clark, the East Mississippi CC alum from Meridian, paces the short-season Class A Northwest League in homers (8, including two on Wednesday), average (.377), hits (49), slugging percentage (.685), runs (32), triples (5) and total bases (89). He also has 20 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for Texas’ Spokane club. Promote him, already. … After roughly a month in the high Class A Florida State League, former Petal High star Anthony Alford is batting .333 with a homer, nine RBIs and 18 runs at Dunedin. Toronto promoted the 21-year-old outfielder, playing his first full pro season, after he hit .293 with 49 runs and 12 steals in 50 games at low-A Lansing.

16 Oct

warming to the task

Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, is heating up in Arizona after a chilly start. The Chicago White Sox’s 2013 first-round pick has five hits, including his first home run on Wednesday, over his last two games for Glendale in the Arizona Fall League. In six games, Anderson, 21, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound shortstop, is batting .400 with four runs, two RBIs and three steals. He spent most of the 2014 season, his first full pro year, at Class A Winston-Salem, hitting .297 with six homers, 31 RBIs and 10 steals. After he recovered from a late-season broken wrist, Anderson was sent to Double-A Birmingham and hit .364 in 10 games. … Kyle Wren and Daniel Castro, who played for the 2014 Mississippi Braves, are hitting .300 and .263, respectively, for Peoria in the AFL. … Former Saltillo High and Itawamba Community College standout Tim Dillard is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in three appearances for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League. Dillard, 31, a onetime big leaguer, posted a 3.13 ERA at Double-A Huntsville in the Milwaukee system this past season. P.S. Wednesday was a big day for Butch Thompson. The Mississippi State associate head coach was named the national assistant coach of the year for 2014 and also was announced as an inductee into the Itawamba Community College Athletic Hall of Fame. Thompson, an Amory native, was a closer at ICC in 1989 and ’90. He is currently in his seventh year of working with MSU’s pitchers. … State’s second fall scrimmage is slated for Friday at Dudy Noble Field.

23 Aug

action-packed night

Eventful game at Trustmark Park. Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, made his Double-A debut for visiting Birmingham, went 3-for-3 with a sac bunt and handled everything hit to him at shortstop. (Note: The 2013 first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox is really good.) Meanwhile, Gustavo Nunez of the Mississippi Braves hit an inside-the-park home run (poorly played by the Barons left fielder) and later scored the game-winning run (with a nice slide) in the eighth inning on a sac fly by Seth Loman. With the 3-2 win, the M-Braves maintained a one-game lead in the Southern League South with nine to play. P.S. In Cincinnati, Billy Hamilton, the Taylorsville Tornado, broke up former M-Braves lefty Mike Minor’s no-hitter (and shutout) with two outs in the eighth inning — but Atlanta beat Cincinnati 3-1 in 12. Hamilton had the Reds’ only two hits in the game, the lone RBI and stole three bases to run his season total to 49. (Note: Hamilton is going to win National League rookie of the year honors.)

11 Jun

gathering momentum

He still has a couple of big steps to take on the path to the major leagues, but Tim Anderson seems to be itching to make a move in that direction. The former East Central Community College standout, drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2013, is currently playing at low Class A Winston-Salem — and mastering the South Atlantic League. Anderson, 20, a shortstop, is batting .309 with 14 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 22 RBIs, 36 runs and 10 stolen bases in 54 games. He is batting .415 in June. And he’s got more than numbers. His “instincts for the game are off the charts,” his manager, Tommy Thompson, said in a story recently posted on milb.com. Anderson, who batted .495 as a sophomore at ECCC, was picked 17th overall last summer and is already rated the White Sox’s No. 2 prospect on one such chart. It’s going to be fun to watch to his progress the next couple of years.