Florida / Miami Marlins All-Time Top 30 Players

29. Brian Anderson (7.6)

Brian Anderson, or “BA,” is a 6-foot-3, 185 lb. third baseman from Edmond, OK. Born on May 19th, 1993, Anderson was a third round choice of the Marlins in the 2014 MLB Amateur Entry Draft.

Anderson played his way through the minors to make his major league debut with Miami on September 1st, 2017, where he went one-for-three against Philadelphia. In a 25 game look to close out the season, he went 22-for-84 with eight RBI, but no home runs. Nonplussed by the lack of power, the Marlins plugged Anderson in at the hot corner for the 2018 campaign.

But not for long. Anderson ended up nearly splitting his time between third base and right field through the season, posting better defensive numbers at the nine spot (4 DRS) than he did at third base (-2 DRS). Still, those metrics are passable at either position, and Anderson brought a lot of much-needed pop to the Marlins lineup.

In a team-high 156 games, Anderson hit .273/.357/.400, with 11 homers and a team-second 65 RBI. His 3.9 WAR also finished second on the team, behind only catcher J.T. Realmuto‘s 4.3. Anderson finished fourth in the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award voting.

Anderson’s 2019 campaign was cut short due to injury, but he still managed to club a team-second 20 round-trippers with 66 RBI, with a .261/.342/.468 slashline and a team-best 3.8 WAR. He made nine assists from right field, topping his mark of eight in 2018. Both figures ranked third in the NL, despite Anderson only playing, in essence, a half-season in right for both seasons.

Anderson enters the 2020 season with one of few guaranteed spots in the Marlins lineup, but we can’t yet say if he’ll play more in right or at third base.