Brian Anderson (anderbr06)

Brian Wade Anderson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 185 lb.
• School University of Arkansas
• High School Deer Creek High School
• Debut September 1, 2017

• Born May 19, 1993 in Edmond, OK USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Brian Anderson was a third-round selection by the Miami Marlins in the 2014 amateur draft, out of the University of Arkansas. He had earlier been drafted in the 20th round by the Minnesota Twins in 2011, when he was coming out of high school.

Anderson began his pro career in 2014 playing second base for the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York-Penn League and the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic League. In 59 games, he hit .300/.363/.496 with 11 homers and 49 RBI for a very strong debut season. In 2015, he fell to .235 in 123 games for the Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League, with 8 homers and 62 RBI. He was principally a third baseman that year, which would be his most common position over the following years as well. In 2016, he hit .302 in 49 games for Jupiter to earn a promotion to the Jacksonville Suns of the AA Southern League, where he hit .243 in 86 games. In 135 games between the two levels, his line was .265/.348/.389, with 11 homers and 69 RBIs The Marlins' AA affiliate was renamed the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2017 and a solid first half there earned him a spot on the United States team for the 2017 Futures Game, played before a hometown crowd at Marlins Park on July 9th. He played the entire game, starting at DH and then moving to third base midway through the contest. He went 2 for 4 with a run scored but almost made a costly error with two outs in the 9th inning and the U.S. trying to hold on to a 7-6 lead with the tying run on base. Mauricio Dubon hit a bouncer to third and Brian rushed his throw to get the rapid runner, pulling first baseman Ryan McMahon off the bag. However, the Colorado Rockies farmhand made a great leaping catch, then tagged Dubon as he went by to end the game.

Brian made his big league debut on September 1, 2017 Marlins, going 1-for-3 against the Philadelphia Phillies. He showed enough in 25 games and in spring training the next year to make the team for 2018, leading all Marlins in games played (156) and runs scored (87) while splitting time between right field and third base. He split time again between the two positions in 2019, establishing career highs in homers (20), RBI (66) and OPS (.811) despite his season ending in August due to injury. On August 11, 2020, he was the first major league player to homer at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, NY, going deep off Hyun-Jin Ryu of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2nd inning of the first game played in the Jays' temporary home for the season. On September 18th, he became the first player to have a three-homer game at Marlins Park, turning the trick and collecting 7 RBIs in a 14-3 win over the Washington Nationals in the second game of a doubleheader. He played in 59 of the Marlins' 60 games that season and put up an OPS+ of 116 - a career high - while batting .255 with 11 homers and 38 RBIs. He was one of the offensive leaders on a team that took advantage of the expanded playoff format to sneak into the postseason. He went 0 for 9 in the Marlins' two-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Series, but when the Marlins struggled against the Atlanta Braves' strong pitching in the Division Series, he was one of the few on his team who did well, going 4 for 10 with a double, a run and an RBI in three games.

After four solid seasons to start his career, Anderson struggles in both 2021 and 2022, losing chunks of both seasons to injuries. He was solely a third baseman the first year but played only 67 games, batting .249 with 7 homers and 28 RBIs to see his OPS+ fall to 94. It fell even further the second year, when he split his time between third and the outfield, playing 98 games and hitting a career-low .222 with 8 homers and 28 RBIs. He became a free agent after the season, and the Marlins did not make a major effort to bring him back. He ended up signing with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Anderson's signing turned out to be a blessing for the Brewers early in the 2023 season as they lost starting third baseman Luis Urias to a pulled hamstring on Opening Day but had the veteran ready to step in. On April 4th, he had an excellent day against the New York Mets as in the 6th inning, he was in the middle of three consecutive homers against ace Max Scherzer, following Rowdy Tellez and preceding rookie Garrett Mitchell. Then in the 7th, Anderson and Mitchell went back-to-back again. Milwaukee won the game, 9-0. Both events were historic, as the Brewers had not hit three consecutive long balls in one game since 2018, and there had never been two batters to homer back-to-back in consecutive innings in team history. In fact, it had not been done in the major leagues since 1998.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2019)

Further Reading

• Adam McCalvy: "Anderson finalizes Brewers deal, eager for 'fun baseball'", mlb.com, January 23, 2023. [1]

Related Sites

• Brian Anderson on mlb.com
• BR Minors page