College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the start of the 2011 College Baseball season by checking in on the Top 100 Players in the country. We will be providing one player per day until we reach number 1.
We continue the list today with number 22 with Oregon junior LHP Tyler Anderson. The Las Vegas, Nevada, native attended Spring Valley High School where he won four letters for Mike Gomez. The Minnesota Twins selected him in the 50th round of the 2008 MLB Draft but were not able to sign him.
Tyler Anderson (Oregon Photo)
Tyler decided to join the revived Oregon program under George Horton. In Tyler’s freshman season in 2009, he struggled as a weekend starter going 2-9 with a 6.26 ERA in 15 starts totaling 82 innings. He started the season as the number 1 starter for the Ducks before settling in as the number 2 starter for the Pac-10 portion of the schedule.
Anderson had a breakout season as a sophomore becoming one of the best pitchers in the country. He served as the number 1 starter going 7-5 while leading the staff with a 2.98 ERA which was fifth best in the Pac-10. He showed excellent control in his 102.2 innings pitched striking out 105 while walking only 33 batters.
Tyler played for the 2010 USA Collegiate National Team. He ended up making three starts for the squad as he went 1-0 without giving up an earned run in his 16 innings of work. He ended up allowing six hits and three walks while striking out 14 batters. Baseball America rated him as the 8th best prospect on the USA team while Frankie Pilere of Fanhouse.com had him as the 23rd best prospect for the 2011 MLB Draft.
The honors have already started pouring in for the lefty as he was named a Third-team Preseason All-American by Louisville Slugger. This is the first of many preseason honors for Anderson who will be expected to lead the Oregon Ducks on their hunt to a spot in the College World Series.
2011 Top 100 College Baseball Players
