Chase Anderson

Robert Chase Anderson (born November 30, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, and Colorado Rockies.

Anderson was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and helped his father with the family business following his parents' divorce.

Anderson was born on November 30, 1987, in Wichita Falls, Texas.

His parents, Michelle and Robert Anderson, divorced when their son was 12 years old.

Anderson went to live with his father, helping with the family lawn care and firewood businesses.

In their free time, Anderson and his father would play catch in their backyard, which sparked Anderson's love for baseball.

Anderson also wanted to play gridiron football, but his mother was afraid that he would suffer an injury that would hinder his baseball career.

While attending S. H. Rider High School in Wichita Falls, Anderson caught the attention of coach Kerry Hargrove, who purposely selected Anderson to pitch on the hottest games of the year.

He was a standout pitcher at S. H. Rider High School, pitching three no-hitters as a senior in 2006 and setting a school record for career strikeouts, but his slender build limited attention from college baseball recruiters.

He finished his senior season in 2006 with a 12–1 win–loss record and was named to the Texas All-State team as both a pitcher and a shortstop.

Anderson also set a school record with 291 career strikeouts.

Anderson graduated from Rider in 2006.

As he was smaller than many of his peers, standing at 5 ft and weighing 140 lb, he did not receive many recruitment offers from college baseball teams.

Instead, he committed to attend North Central Texas College.

In the 2006–07 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) season, Anderson led North Central Texas pitchers in strikeouts, with 67 in 61 1⁄3 innings pitched.

He spent two seasons there before transferring to the University of Oklahoma.

He spent two seasons with North Central Texas College before transferring to the University of Oklahoma for the 2009 season.

The Diamondbacks selected Anderson in the ninth round of the 2009 MLB Draft.

Anderson became a critical member of the Oklahoma Sooners' bullpen, with a crucial long reliever performance against Wichita State in the 2009 NCAA regional playoffs.

Leading the Oklahoma pitching rotation with 26 appearances in 2009, Anderson posted a 3–1 record with a 4.97 ERA, striking out 60 batters in 50 2⁄3 innings.

The Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB) drafted Anderson in the ninth round, with the 276th overall selection of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.

He spent the season with the rookie–level Missoula Osprey of the Pioneer League, helping pitch the team reach the 2009 playoffs.

The Osprey used Anderson as both a starting pitcher and reliever, and he went 3–1 for the season with a 2.38 earned run average (ERA) and 49 strikeouts in 45 1⁄3 innings.

Anderson began the 2010 season with the Single–A South Bend Silver Hawks, with whom he was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending May 9.

The honor came after a seven-inning complete game shutout against the Dayton Dragons.

He was soon promoted to the High–A Visalia Rawhide of the California League.

He won Pitcher of the Week honors once again on June 7 after striking out 11 batters and allowing only one run against the Stockton Ports.

Between the two teams, Anderson posted a 7–7 record for the season, with a 3.32 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 108 1⁄3 innings.

He spent the next several years rising through the team's farm system, suffering a setback in 2011 when an elbow injury caused him to miss nearly the entire season.

Anderson began the 2011 season with the Rawhide as well but pitched in only three games before a flexor muscle strain in his right elbow ended his season.

Returning in 2012, Anderson was assigned to the Double–A Mobile BayBears.

Anderson's father died shortly after spring training, and the pitcher decided to use the news to push himself harder, telling reporters, "I try to use things like obstacles in life as opportunities to grow, to get better, to learn something from."

Anderson made his major league debut for the Diamondbacks in 2014.

During the 2016 offseason, Anderson was part of a major five-player trade between the Diamondbacks and Brewers.

His performance continued to improve, setting career highs in wins in 2017 and innings pitched in 2018.

Hargrove told KAUZ-TV in 2018, "He was such a hard worker, mowed yards in his high school days to earn extra money. So we would pitch him on days when it was going to be 104, 105 degrees, and we knew we had an advantage because we knew he had the stamina to last on those type of days".

In his senior season with Rider, Anderson pitched three no-hitters, including one against division rivals Wichita Falls High School.

Going into 2020, the Brewers traded Anderson to the Toronto Blue Jays, where his performance suffered amidst a shortened season.

He spent most of the 2021 season on a one-year contract for the Phillies, but closed out the year in the Texas Rangers minor league system.