White Sox Star Tim Anderson Proving He’s a Bargain at the WBC

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?

Anderson’s move to 2B to accommodate Turner’s spot in the lineup has been huge for Team USA.

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1. Immediately upon signing on with Team USA, Anderson volunteered to play second base so manager Mark DeRosa can put Trea Turner and Anderson in the same lineup against a lefthander. That’s bold coming from somebody who never played the position in his 1,135 professional games across the minors and MLB. But Anderson is nothing but bold.
2. DeRosa says Anderson reminds him of Michael Young, the former Rangers infielder and one of Team USA’s coaches. Like Young, Anderson has lightning-fast hands and can shoot base hits to rightfield almost at will. Through their age 29 seasons, Anderson has the slightly better OPS+ (105-104) with more home runs (97-94) and steals (104-46).