Matt Anderson

When Anderson arrived at Murray State he was a skinny 82-86 mph righthander with guts but little else. But he's steadily gotten better as he survived getting his brains beaten in--he posted an ERA above 6.00 in each of his first three seasons. It all paid off this year as Anderson ranked in the top five among Division I pitchers in strikeouts thanks in part to deception in his delivery. Anderson breaks his hands and shows the ball very early in his delivery, but then he hides the ball again in his takeaway. Anderson lacks a devastating plus pitch, generating his strikeouts more from his ability to locate four pitches, none of which is worse than fringe-average. Anderson's average fastball now sits 88-92, and his low-80s average slider has improved its power and bite as he's added arm speed. Anderson also mixes in a fringe-average curveball and fringe-average changeup. Anderson's impressive strikeout rate (12.8 per nine innings) and his status as a lower-risk senior sign should help him into the back end of the top 10 rounds.