Phillies Secret Weapon: An Underdog Battling For A Roster Spot

More so than any Phillies team since the 102-win, MLB-leading behemoth of 2011, this 2019 Phillies team is loaded with depth. Nowhere else is that depth as apparent as in the periphery of the bullpen and the starting rotation, where a significant number of promising youngsters and veterans — all of whom could be above average major league players — are fighting for the final, precious few spots.

One of the most unheralded names, and simultaneously the Phillies biggest star this spring, has been righty Drew Anderson.

No one expected Anderson, a 21st round pick in the 2012 draft who will be 25 for the 2019 season, to even be in the conversation. He sat at maybe seventh or eighth on the rotation depth chart when camp opened in February, and there were half a dozen names, if not more, ahead of him for a bullpen spot.

A month later, things are looking very different.

Anderson has thrown more innings than most other Phils hurlers this spring (12.2), while maintaining a lower ERA (0.71) and WHIP (0.63) than almost any pitcher in the entire Grapefruit League. He has 12 strikeouts. He also has a new pitch: a cut fastball, as he recently told told MLB.com, with good movement. He still has a four-seamer and slider, his primary offerings, backed up by a curveball and changeup.

Because the amount of innings he's thrown in spring training suggest at least a curiosity on the part of Phillies brass, because he can work as both a spot-starter and long reliever, and because his age and the development of a new pitch suggest breakout potential, it's suddenly a possibility that Anderson could break camp on the 25-man roster.

While Anderson's experience at the big league level is limited (15 innings, one start) and the results inflated (7.80 ERA), his underlying peripherals tell a different story: he has an FIP of 2.37, a statistic used as a predictor of ERA based on the quality of defense he had behind him. And he struck out Mike Trout.

And it's not like Anderson came out of nowhere. In six minor league seasons since the Phillies drafted him as an 18-year-old, he has a stellar 3.27 ERA and a 33-21 record, to go with 377 strikeouts over 437 innings. He never had the flashy raw stuff that makes top prospect lists, and has generally profiled as a back of the rotation arm, though the book on now-established starters like Zach Eflin and Nick Pivetta was not all that different. If there was a BuzzFeed article about Anderson, it might be subtitled "MLB Scouts Hate Him."

As for secret weapon: it's more likely Anderson makes the team as a long reliever than a starter, as the latter scenario is almost impossible without an injury to the one of the Phillies top five. But long relievers have proven to be some of the most impactful players in the game in recent years. The two best examples: Milwaukee's Josh Hader and Arizona's Archie Bradley, each long thought of as a starter, each moved to the bullpen where they routinely were placed in high leverage, non-closing situations, often for multiple innings at a time. Instead of burning three relievers over the course of, say, between two and three innings, and tripling the chance that one of those three will have a bad day, the Hader-Bradley mold leaves the job to one long reliever who is either elite, or is pitching like he's elite. Right now, that's Anderson.

Now, a few weeks in March are no justification for putting those expectations on Anderson's shoulders, and spring training remains a notoriously poor predictor of regular season productivity. Yet it nevertheless serves as a proving ground for players on the fringe of earning a coveted Opening Day roster spot. And more importantly, for a player like Anderson, it's a way to show off dramatic improvement.

Of the Phillies likely eight-man bullpen, there are four locks: David Robertson, Seranthony Dominguez, James Pazos, and Pat Neshek. Lefty James Alvarez feels likely as well, as does Neris. That leaves two spots up for grabs, and just one once Tommy Hunter comes off the disabled list. Anderson will need to supplant established veterans like Juan Nicasio and Adam Morgan, as well as promising youngsters like Edubray Ramos, Victor Arano, and Yacksel Rios to earn his shot.

"Competition is great," Anderson said in the MLB.com interview. "Especially between friends. There's really nothing better than that."

Final roster decisions might not be made until the last moment before Opening Day. But for a Phillies team that is projected to be locked in an epic four-way battle to the death in the National League East, a pitcher with Anderson's kind of flexibility could be invaluable.

If the Phillies are going to win the division and advance deep into the playoffs, it won't be because all of the All Star types played to their career averages. Help will need to come from unexpected places, and nowhere is more unexpected than Andersonville.