Robert Chase Anderson (born November 30, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers.
Anderson was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and helped his father with the family business following his parents' divorce. He was a standout pitcher at S. H. Rider High School, pitching three no-hitters as a senior in 2006 and setting a school record for career strikeouts, but his slender build limited attention from college baseball recruiters. He spent two seasons with North Central Texas College before transferring to the University of Oklahoma for the 2009 season. The Diamondbacks selected Anderson in the ninth round of the 2009 MLB draft. He spent the next several years rising through the team's farm system, suffering a setback in 2011 when an elbow injury caused him to miss nearly the entire season. Anderson made his major league debut for the Diamondbacks in 2014.
During the 2016 offseason, Anderson was part of a major five-player trade between the Diamondbacks and Brewers. His performance continued to improve, setting career highs in wins in 2017 and innings pitched in 2018. Going into 2020, the Brewers traded Anderson to the Toronto Blue Jays, where his performance suffered amid a shortened season. He spent most of the 2021 season on a one-year contract for the Phillies, but closed out the year in the Texas Rangers minor league system.
Early life Anderson was born on November 30, 1987, in Wichita Falls, Texas. His parents, Michelle and Robert Anderson, divorced when their son was 12 years old. Anderson went to live with his father, helping with the family lawn care and firewood businesses. In their free time, Anderson and his father would play catch in their backyard, which sparked Anderson's love for baseball. Anderson also wanted to play gridiron football, but his mother was afraid that he would suffer an injury that would hinder his baseball career.
While attending S. H. Rider High School in Wichita Falls, Anderson caught the attention of coach Kerry Hargrove, who purposely selected Anderson to pitch on the hottest games of the year. Hargrove told KAUZ-TV in 2018, "He was such a hard worker, mowed yards in his high school days to earn extra money. So we would pitch him on days when it was going to be 104, 105 degrees, and we knew we had an advantage because we knew he had the stamina to last on those type of days". In his senior season with Rider, Anderson pitched three no-hitters, including one against division rivals Wichita Falls High School. He finished his senior season in 2006 with a 12–1 win–loss record and was named to the Texas All-State team as both a pitcher and a shortstop. Anderson also set a school record with 291 career strikeouts.
College career Anderson graduated from Rider in 2006. As he was smaller than many of his peers, standing at and weighing , he did not receive many recruitment offers from college baseball teams. Instead, he committed to attend North Central Texas College. In the 2006–07 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) season, Anderson led North Central Texas pitchers in strikeouts, with 67 in innings pitched. He spent two seasons there before transferring to the University of Oklahoma. Anderson became a critical member of the Oklahoma Sooners' bullpen, with a crucial long reliever performance against Wichita State in the 2009 NCAA regional playoffs. Leading the Oklahoma pitching rotation with 26 appearances in 2009, Anderson posted a 3–1 record with a 4.97 ERA, striking out 60 batters in innings.
Professional career Draft and minor leagues The Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB) drafted Anderson in the ninth round, with the 276th overall selection of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He spent the season with the rookie–level Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League, helping pitch the team reach the 2009 playoffs. The Osprey used Anderson as both a starting pitcher and reliever, and he went 3–1 for the season with a 2.38 earned run average (ERA) and 49 strikeouts in innings.
Anderson began the 2010 season with the Single–A South Bend Silver Hawks, with whom he was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending May 9. The honor came after a seven-inning complete game shutout against the Dayton Dragons. He was soon promoted to the High–A Visalia Rawhide of the California League. He won Pitcher of the Week honors once again on June 7 after striking out 11 batters and allowing only one run against the Stockton Ports. Between the two teams, Anderson posted a 7–7 record for the season, with a 3.32 ERA and 114 strikeouts in innings. Anderson began the 2011 season with the Rawhide as well but pitched in only three games before a flexor muscle strain in his right elbow ended his season.
Returning in 2012, Anderson was assigned to the Double–A Mobile BayBears. Anderson's father died shortly after spring training, and the pitcher decided to use the news to push himself harder, telling reporters, "I try to use things like obstacles in life as opportunities to grow, to get better, to learn something from." He led the Southern League with a 2.08 ERA in the early part of the season. In May, Anderson left a game against the Jackson Generals after only two innings and spent seven days on the disabled list. He went 5–4 for the season in 21 starts and posted a 2.86 ERA. He also recorded 97 strikeouts and helped take the BayBears to their second consecutive Southern League championship. That same year, Anderson played in the Arizona Fall League with the Salt River Rafters, going 3–1 with a 3.47 ERA and recording 26 strikeouts in innings.
Anderson began the 2013 season with the Triple–A Reno Aces. Although he was placed on the disabled list twice with an injury to the right triceps, he appeared in 26 games, including 13 starts, and went 4–7 with a 5.73 ERA. He was moved back down to the BayBears in 2014, where he began the season strongly, going 4–2 with a 0.69 ERA in his first six starts.
Arizona Diamondbacks (2014–2015) Anderson was recalled to the Diamondbacks on May 6, 2014, as pitcher Mike Bolsinger was optioned to Triple A. He was credited with the win in his major league debut on May 11, giving up only two hits and one run in innings of a 5–1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Anderson continued to dominate in the first part of the season, becoming the first pitcher since Jered Weaver to start his major league career with five consecutive wins. Sports journalists considered Anderson's consistent performance to be a bright spot amidst the Diamondbacks' disappointing 2014 season. Anderson finished his rookie season with a 9–7 record, a 4.01 ERA, and 105 strikeouts in innings.
Going into the 2015 season, Anderson was named as part of a five-man starting rotation for the Diamondbacks that also consisted of Josh Collmenter, Jeremy Hellickson, Rubby De La Rosa, and Trevor Cahill. On June 13, Anderson pitched hitless innings against the San Francisco Giants before giving up a hit to catcher Buster Posey. Although he posted a 2.82 ERA in his first 12-season starts, a lack of offensive performance from the Diamondbacks meant that he only took the win in three of those matches. Anderson struggled by the middle of the season, with his poor performance reaching its crest on July 18, when he was taken out of a game against the Giants in the fourth inning after allowing seven runs on 10 hits. This outing came after he had given up a cumulative 19 runs in his prior four starts. The following day, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his right triceps. In August, Anderson spent a brief stint in the minor leagues before Hellickson was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. Anderson posted a 6–6 record in 2016, with a 4.30 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 27 starts and innings.
Milwaukee Brewers (2016–2019)
On January 30, 2016, Anderson was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers alongside infielder Aaron Hill and shortstop prospect Isan Diaz in exchange for shortstop Jean Segura and pitching prospect Tyler Wagner. The Brewers also received cash considerations due to Hill's large contract. On May 17, 2016, Anderson pitched seven hitless innings against the Chicago Cubs before Ben Zobrist hit a double on the first pitch of the eighth inning. After solo home runs from Jason Heyward and Kris Bryant in the ninth, Anderson was taken out of the game with one out remaining, and Jeremy Jeffress got the save to preserve his win. In the middle of the season, Anderson struggled with both run control and longevity: between June 8 and July 24, he did not win a single game for the Brewers, and he routinely did not pitch through the end of the fifth inning. He improved towards the end of the season, cutting his ERA from 5.44 in the first half to 3.02 in the second half. Anderson made 30 starts and one relief appearance for the Brewers in 2016, posting a 9–11 record and a 4.39 ERA.
Anderson's contract went to arbitration during the offseason when he and the Brewers could not reach an agreement on his salary. Anderson lost the hearing and was paid $2.45 million for the 2017 season. On May 27, while playing against his old team, Anderson once again took a no-hitter bid into the eighth inning. His hitless streak was broken by a single from Diamondbacks batter Nick Ahmed, but the Brewers went on to win the game 6–1. On June 28, Anderson left a game against the Reds in the second inning after suddenly grabbing his left side. He was placed on the 10-day disabled list with an oblique strain, but was expected to miss closer to four to six weeks. At the time of the injury, Anderson was having the best season of his career, with a 2.89 ERA and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9). Following a series of rehab assignments with the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Anderson returned to the rotation on August 20 for a game against the Colorado Rockies. Despite missing six weeks of the season due to injury, Anderson dominated in the 2017 season, going 12–4 with a 2.74 ERA, 133 strikeouts, and a 1.090 WHIP in 25 starts and innings.
Following his strong performance in 2017, the Brewers signed Anderson to a two-year, $11.75 million contract on October 26, 2017. He also got the nod to start the Brewers' Opening Day game against the San Diego Padres on March 29, 2018. Anderson allowed one hit in six innings, but Jeffress was credited with the 2–1 win in extra innings. Early into the season, it was predicted that Anderson would become the Brewers' ace. In his first four starts, he held to a 2.82 ERA and managed to break the New York Mets' nine-game winning streak. However, he was unable to retain the momentum that he had built in 2017, as he went on to lead the National League (NL) with 30 home runs allowed. After allowing three runs in innings on September 18, Anderson was removed from the Brewers' starting rotation, and he was left off of the postseason roster entirely. He pitched to a 9–8 record in 2018, with a 3.93 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 158 innings and 30 starts.
Following his lackluster 2018 performance, Anderson began the 2019 season in the Brewers' bullpen, where he went 1–0 with a 4.50 ERA in five appearances. After a series of injuries and disappointments befell the starting rotation, however, he was moved back into the role, where he went 7–4 with a 4.19 ERA in 27 appearances. Critical to his newfound success was the utilization of a cut fastball, which he used 14.5 percent of the time in 2019. FanGraphs ranked Anderson's cutter as the second-best in the MLB that year, behind that of Jeff Samardzija. Anderson's season ERA was 4.21 in 2019, with 124 strikeouts in 139 innings.
Toronto Blue Jays (2020)