Boston Red Sox brothers facing off in minors

There have been a lot of rumblings surrounding an impending position change—and a major league promotion—by Chicago White Sox prospect Tim Anderson. As an error-prone shortstop with foot speed to spare, there were rumors the White Sox were going to move Anderson to the outfield.

The advanced analytics used to evaluate a minor league player’s defensive value aren’t as readily available as those of a major leaguer, but what is available suggests Anderson has made improvements. According to Baseball-Reference, he has improved his range factor per game from 4.50 to 4.89 and his fielding percentage from .952 to .969. He’s on pace for between 16 and 17 errors, which would be an improvement from last season’s 25.

While the defense is coming around, Anderson has been himself offensively, slashing .305/.330/.405 entering Wednesday. Since May 9, Anderson is hitting .392/.421/.569. He doesn’t draw a lot of walks—he has eight in 219 plate appearances—but he could be a steady table setter in the near future depending on how Jimmy Rollins and Tyler Saladino play in the coming weeks.

Baltimore Orioles outfield prospect Mike Yastrzemski was promoted to Triple-A Norfolk on May 16. He was hitting .268/.361/.449 in Double-A, and he’s gotten even hotter since his promotion. After a 1-for-5 performance Tuesday night, he was hitting .321/.393/.566 in the International League.

New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo really knows how to draw a walk. He has a 11.6 percent walk rate, which is actually one of the lowest rates of his career, and it’s led to a .297/.383/.455 line entering Wednesday. Tuesday he hit his second home run of the season.

Next: Double-A