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SAN FRANCISCO – All eyes were on Shaun Anderson, the Giants' future hope, Wednesday afternoon, but you'll forgive some of his new teammates if they did not pay their full attention when Anderson dug into the box at the second run.
Even Aramis Garcia, his off-season workout partner, friend and receiver, had no high expectations – or none – when Anderson first showed up. A year ago, with Double-A Richmond, Anderson had borrowed one of Garcia's bats. Apparently, the results were not memorable.
"In Richmond, man … it looked like, ah … we thought he was going to hurt himself with the force with which he swayed," Garcia said with a smile.
Anderson, standing at 6 feet 4 inches and 225 pounds, still beats hard. And in his debut, that shot put the barrel twice on a field of Edwin Jackson, leading to two hits in a 4-3 win over the Blue Jays. He also launched five solid runs, more than enough to guarantee a second start. This will happen next week at Oracle Park, when Anderson will attempt to consolidate the historic start of the plate.
Anderson had a double from the opposite pitch that left the stick at 108.9 mph – giving him the 12th hardest hit ball of the year by a giant – and a mere seer. He became the first thrower in the history of the Giants to have two shots in his debut and the first to do it for any team since Steven Matz des Mets in 2010.
First big league at bat and Shaun Anderson draws a double pic.twitter.com/XYlt2jIitq
– SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 15, 2019
So yes, for a few days, Shaun Anderson has the right to boast of Madison Bumgarner.
"In fact, I worked with him in the spring to train me to hit," Anderson said. "Then I can credit him a bit."
Anderson will surely slow down to the plate, but on the mound, the signs were just as positive. He gave three points – two deserved – and the three were easily avoidable.
"They got some cheap points," said director Bruce Bochy.
The three races against Anderson were scored by Blue Jays striker Brandon Drury, but only two were earned, and the exchanges were not really worrying. Drury led the encounter with a simple bat bloop broken right and scored with two outs when Anderson threw one of the two curves of the curve. He checked near the bottom of the area and Freddy Galvis shot him in the right field corner.
"I was going with a different look," Anderson said. "I went with the curve in the area and left it there and he did it."
Brandon Crawford, who started after Anderson left, said it would change with experience. The curve may well be Anderson's fourth best run, and Crawford said he would learn to bury him in this situation. But Crawford saw something he liked then.
"He was aggressive," he said.
Two races later, Drury took a walk, passed second on a wild course, took third place in deep ball and ran home on another wild course. Anderson arrived in time for the label, but dropped the ball when it collided with Drury. In the fifth, Drury got Evan Longoria 's mistake and went up to third when Anderson' s starting shot scored the goal. He scored on a slow roll to third.
"It's something that I have to limit," Anderson said of wild lands and wandering withdrawal. "Limiting these mistakes would have helped me win."
Anyway, there was more than enough to build. Anderson is heavily leaning on a fastball that hit 95 and has a natural cut. He can pour it or throw it right to mix it. He also launched a lot of hard sliders, with two different variants. Crawford, who faced Anderson in spring training, said the change was actually an understated offer.
What does not require sharpening is the behavior. Anderson is known as a "bulldog", and Garcia said that he was one of the kind – in the Bumgarner mold – to watch a hitter. Anderson showed confidence and aggression on Wednesday, but he never seemed out of control.
"It's definitely one of my favorite guys to catch," Garcia said.
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With Buster Posey ready to return Friday, Garcia might not be at the rendezvous for Anderson's upcoming start. But the important thing right now for an organization looking for warning signs is that Anderson has made a fresh start. Bochy left no doubt when asked, saying that he was in the rotation at the moment, which means a few more bats, at the very least.
"I did not know that he could hit the bat like that," Bochy said. "It's a very good start, is not it?"
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