Chicago White Sox: Three Areas Tim Anderson Needs to Improve in 2017

Tim Anderson is one of the Chicago White Sox’s best young players, but he can still improve a lot in 2017.

At this time last year, Tim Anderson was the most coveted and talked about prospect in the Chicago White Sox organization. Now, trying to predict when Yoan Moncada will make his White Sox debut or when pitchers Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito will join the staff is the hot topic.

The love fest for Anderson shouldn’t completely disappear, though. He’s still one of the most promising young shortstops in the game. Chicago showed its faith by signing him to an extension last week worth a record $25 million. It’s the biggest extension ever for a player with less than a year of experience, and means he could stay in Chicago through 2024.

Anderson won’t hit leadoff to start the season, according to CBS Sports, as Rick Renteria expects him to hit second in the lineup. That still means a lot of at-bats for the young shortstop.

Either way, he’s their unquestioned shortstop and will start as many games as possible for the White Sox. He will see a lot of at-bats and chances in the field, so Chicago is expecting him to develop even more after hitting .283/.306/.432 with nine home runs in 99 games last season.

After finishing seventh in Rookie of the Year voting, here are three areas the White Sox hope Anderson can improve in during 2017.

Plate Discipline

Tim Anderson sported a solid batting average of .283 last season, but his .306 on-base percentage leaves much to be desired. If Anderson wants to be the White Sox’s future leadoff hitter, he needs to be more disciplined at the plate and draw walks.

In 99 games last season, Anderson only walked 13 times. That ranked just 12th on the team behind players like Omar Narvaez, Jimmy Rollins and Austin Jackson, who each played fewer than 55 games with the White Sox last season.

He hasn’t been much better during Spring Training. Anderson has yet to draw a walk in 52 at-bats. He is the only player on Chicago this spring with at least 25 at-bats and no walks. The next player with no walks this spring on Chicago is catcher Roberto Pena, who only has 20 at-bats.

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A lack of walks can be caused by numerous things for a young player, such as impatience at the plate or a bad eye. Considering Anderson struck out 117 times – 28.5 percent of the time and 1.2 times per game – in 2016, the White Sox will be looking for him to have a better eye and work the count.

He only worked the count to 3-0 or 3-1 nine times last season compared to 43 at-bats going down 0-2. In fact, his at-bats only went to a full count 43 times in 431 plate appearances. That means he only worked the count to three balls 12.1 percent of time, which dwindles in comparison to Jose Abreu (18.1 percent), Todd Frazier (23.7 percent) and Melky Cabrera (15.9 percent), Chicago’s top-three at-bat leaders from a year ago.

Anderson has already struck out 10 times in 55 at-bats this spring, which is why Renteria expects him to bat second. Hopefully he has less pressure in the two-hole so he can work the count and wait for his pitch. It will be hard to put him near the top of the order if he’s not able to.

Stolen Bases

Tim Anderson is fast. He was one of four players with double-digit stolen bases on Chicago last season, and one of 13 players in the majors with double-digit stolen bases in 100 or fewer games, according to Baseball Reference. He is still honing his skills and could be even more effective on the base paths this season, though.

Stealing bases is a skill that speedy outfielder Adam Eaton never learned while in Chicago. He never reached 20 stolen bases in his three seasons with the Sox and ranked second behind Todd Frazier in that category last season. Anderson has a chance to end Chicago’s two-year drought of not having a 20-stolen base player.

During his four minor league seasons, Anderson stole 110 bases, including 49 during his 2015 AA season. It’s evident that he has the speed – as he hit six triples in 2016 – and ability to swipe bases. Plus, he didn’t have a terrible steal percentage in the minors or during his rookie season.

During his minor league career, Anderson converted on 78.6 percent of stolen base tries, which is just 4.7 percent lower than Jason Kipnis who ranked 10th in the majors last season. It’s also a better percentage than Jonathan Villar (77.5 percent) and Eduardo Nunez (75 percent), both of whom ranked top five in steals.

During his rookie season, it rose to 83.3 percent (10-for-12). He hasn’t had many chances in Spring Training, going just 1-for-2, which is what needs to change.

Anderson only had a stolen base opportunity every 8.25 games with the Sox, while Frazier had one every 7.9 games. In 2017, Chicago needs to utilize his speed more often. If not, it’s a waste of one of his best skills, and something the White Sox lack.