After the game Francona and Anderson both noted the righty sweats a lot and usually goes through two or three jerseys every game due to the fact, which could have played a role in the cramping. As the weather heats up this may be something Anderson and the training staff have to monitor more closely moving forward.
Indians Pitching Coach Micky Callaway saw some things they could take away form the game despite Anderson allowing four runs in five innings.
Callaway mentioned location as a big problem early on this season for Anderson.
“Height, it’s all thigh high,” Callaway explained. “We’re really working on getting that depth back and angling the ball down and keeping the ball down for the most part. Really, the height of his pitches is what has gotten him so far.
Anderson’s performance after the Morales home run could suggest a slight adjustment had been made to the depth of his pitches.
“I thought he was better,” Francona said of Anderson. “He was down, he threw some good changeups, he just made a really bad pitch to the wrong guy.”
All in all, Callaway viewed this start as a small step forward for Anderson.
“Obviously he didn’t have great execution on the 0-2 cutter in and gave up the three run homer but the first two hits, they weren’t hit very hard and pretty good pitches by him,” Callaway said about the first. “It was really one pitch tonight that cost him early and then I though he settled in and threw the ball pretty well.”
With Carlos Carrasco still out for at least 3-4 weeks, the Tribe will need Anderson to perform better, and maybe the later innings on Saturday suggest that he’s beginning to turn things around.
Corey Kluber (aside from yesterday’s start), Danny Salazar and Josh Tomlin have given the Indians quality starting pitching in the early going and, barring injury, those three hold solid roster spots for the remainder of the season.
Anderson on the other hand?
If Anderson doesn’t make some improvement before the return of Carrasco he could be staring another designation for assignment in the face depending on how Trevor Bauer performs in Carrasco’s absence. When Carrasco returns it will more than likely be either Bauer moving to the bullpen or Anderson moving back to Triple-A Columbus.
Right now it’s important that Anderson doesn’t worry about then and he worries about now. Anderson showed the organization what he could do last year, especially in September when he posted a 1.38 ERA on his way to a 5-0 record in the month but last year is last year.
There is little question that Anderson’s outing Saturday was better than the previous three which is something him and Callaway can build upon and it is important to harp those points.
“That’s what we’ll talk about,” Callaway said. “Sometimes it’s easy to start spinning out there, especially when things aren’t quite going your way. You can get caught up in ‘oh no, things went bad again’ so we’ll make sure we stress the good parts and the good adjustments he made and go from there.”
After the game, Francona also talked about how there was some good that came out of this game and the importance that Anderson knows it.
“Yes, very much so,” Francona said when asked the importance on emphasizing the positives with Anderson. “We will. Sometimes young guys are a little work in progress but there’s a lot to love about this kid and we’ll make sure he knows that.”
It seems as though there is still a lot to like with Anderson throughout the coaching staff. A rookie performance like his last year will buy you more leeway with an organization when it comes to your development. How much work Anderson put in during the off-season might have even bought him a little more.
The question is how patient is the team going to be with him this season?
That question will be answered when Carrasco returns, assuming he makes it until then.
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