Baltimore Orioles: Five inexpensive pitchers the Orioles should target
By Ben Palmer
3. Brett Anderson – 1-2, 11.91 ERA, 2.56 WHIP, 3.97 K/9
Before you say anything about those stats, that was only in 11.1 innings last season and Brett Anderson was returning from back surgery.
Granted, in that return, he didn’t exactly light the world on fire, but he’s only a season removed from pitching a 3.69 ERA in 180.1 innings. His HR/FB rate has been exceptionally high most of his career, you’d think that perhaps that’d come back to normal at some point (though it’s possible it wouldn’t).
Anderson has a bit of an injury history, which is difficult to deal with, but there’s no reason to think that he can’t come back and be a useful starter in the major leagues, similar to Fister.
Anderson isn’t going to be your ace, but he could easily be a useful mid-rotation starter, and in all honesty, a 3.69 ERA would be a breath of fresh air as far as the Baltimore Orioles starting rotation is concerned.
Anderson will be 29 this year, so he still has some years left in him, and if he can get the hard contact and home runs down, he could be a viable starting pitcher for cheap.