It may be a stretch to call White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson the breakout star of Team USA. He is a two-time All-Star, a Silver Slugger winner, a top 10 MVP finisher, a .485 hitter in seven career postseason games and the leading hitter in the majors over the past four seasons (.318). But even being such an established star, Anderson deservedly is getting newfound praise for his play with Team USA. Why?
To appreciate Anderson even more, the better comp is Turner, who just signed an 11-year, $300 million contract with the Phillies. Anderson and Turner were born one week apart in 1993. They have similar skills. Turner has a slightly better résumé because he has learned to hit the ball in the air more, thus boosting his slugging. Anderson is more of an old-school wizard with the way he swings the stick.
Here’s a look at how they compare on offense over the past four seasons:
AVG.
OBP
SLG.
OPS+
Anderson
.318
.347
.474
122
Turner
.311
.361
.509
131
When it comes to pure speed (measured in feet per second), Anderson (28.3 sprint speed, tied for 64th among those with 100 timed runs) is not as fast as Turner (30.3, second in MLB). But Anderson is the bolder baserunner:
Run Scoring %
Stolen Base %
Extra Base Taken %
Anderson
42%
79%
54%
Turner
38%
86%
47%
Anderson is similar to Turner except for their contracts. Anderson is in the last guaranteed year of a seven-year, $37.5 million contract he signed in 2017, just after his rookie season. The White Sox hold an option for 2024 and are a lock to pick it up at $14 million. Including the option, Anderson will earn $51.5 million over his age 24-31 seasons. In those same years, Turner, by signing nothing but one-year contracts and then hitting free agency, will earn $100.9 million, or almost twice as much.
If the WBC hasn’t quite made Anderson a “breakout star,” it has confirmed his status as a catalyst and a bargain.