Brett Anderson pitches as a starter for the Oakland Athletics. At age 21, he turned in an outstanding rookie season in 2009. While his 11-11 record and 4.06 ERA might not look that impressive, he did everything a pitcher should do well. He struck out 150 in 175 innings, a rate of 7.7 per nine. He walked just 2.3 per nine innings and allowed 20 home runs, 22.9 per 200 innings. The Hardball Times put his FIP at 3.77, 0.3 runs better than his ERA, so he appears to have suffered a bit from poor fielding behind him.

There are two other attributes of Anderson’s pitching that should lead to better results as he matures. He induces a high percentage of ground balls, leading to opponents grounding into 24 double plays. That was tied for fifth in the AL. As a left-handed pitcher, he did a better job getting right-handed batters out than left-handed batters. The double plays help reduce his OBP allowed, and the reverse platoon gives him an advantage over switch hitters and managers who platoon simply based on the handedness of the pitcher.

Anderson is someone to watch closely over the next few seasons. A better defensive and offensive Oakland team should bring his win total way up.