CALVIN ANDERSON

5/8/87; '08 12th; Southern Univ. A & M
R/R; 6-7, 240

Level
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2006 NCAA
.359
.481
.625
64
8
0
3
12
16
0
0
2007 NCAA
.362
.433
.567
141
9
1
6
17
32
1
1
2008 NCAA
.328
.426
.600
125
8
1
8
13
33
0
1
2008 A-
.265
.337
.453
170
10
2
6
17
57
1
0
2009 A
.274
.347
.446
372
18
5
12
33
110
1
1

Anderson evidently comes by his size honestly, as his father played in the NFL. The son played in the Southwest Athletic Conference, which also produced another recent Pirate minor leaguer in Marcus Davis. Anderson didn't dominate the SWAC to the absurd degree that Davis did. Anderson signed quickly after the draft and was the starting firstbaseman at State College in 2008, until he went down for the season with an ankle injury in mid-August. His hitting was very similar to Davis', with good power, a decent number of walks and a huge number of strikeouts.

Anderson was the starting firstbaseman at West Virginia in 2009, although he eventually shared the 1B and DH roles with Kyle Morgan. Anderson got off to a good start, with an OPS of .961 in April, but he cooled off after that. His overall power production wasn't nearly enough for a player limited to 1B and he hit only five HRs after May. He's extremely strong, but does not have good bat speed. As a result, he tends to hit the ball to the opposite field and has to commit to a swing early. Possibly as a result, he had a reverse platoon split, with an .820 OPS against RHPs and .701 against LHPs. His plate discipline was poor, although it improved from a BB:K ratio of less than 1:5 in the first two months to 1:2.7 the rest of the way.  He seems to be prone to minor injuries, as he missed time now and then throughout the season; he played in more than 19 games in only one month.  He also missed a little time as the Pirates took him out of the lineup to work on his swing.  Defense is not a strong suit, as he had ten errors in only 58 games.  He should be at Bradenton in 2010, but he's a ways from establishing himself as a prospect.

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