Grant Anderson (born June 21, 1997) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Texas Rangers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Anderson attended

West Orange-Stark High School West Orange-Stark High School is a College Preparatory High school in West Orange, Texas, and the only high school in the West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District, though some students report to the West Orange-Stark Academic Alt ...

West Orange, Texas West Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas. The population was 3,459 at the 2020 census, up from 3,443 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Beaumont– Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography West Orange is located at (30.0 ...

. Undrafted out of high school, he attended

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...

. After posting a 13.80

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) as a freshman, Anderson had a 8–0

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

with a 2.30 ERA and 56

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s over innings as a sophomore. As a junior, Anderson pitched to a 4–7 record with a 3.86 ERA and 72 strikeouts over

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

The

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

selected Anderson in the 21st round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

. Anderson split his professional debut season of 2018 between the

AZL Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is com ...

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity o ...

, and the

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Lea ...

, going a combined 2–1 with a 1.38 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 13 innings.

Texas Rangers

On April 1, 2019, Anderson was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for

Connor Sadzeck Connor William Sadzeck (born October 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Seattle Ma ...

. He spent the 2019 season with the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

of the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classif ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, going 7–4 with a 3.22 ERA and 50 strikeouts over innings. He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Anderson split the 2021 season between Hickory (reclassified to the

High-A East The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

) and the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

of the

Double-A Central The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, going a combined 2–4 with a 5.76 ERA and 61 strikeouts over innings. His 2022 campaign was split between Frisco and the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, with whom he posted a 5–0 combined record with a 3.48 ERA and 91 strikeouts over innings. During the 2022 offseason, he played in the

Puerto Rican Winter League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

for the Cangrejeros de Santurce, posting a 1–2 record with a 0.47 ERA and 24 strikeouts over 19 innings. Anderson opened the 2023 season moving between Frisco and Round Rock. On May 29, 2023, Texas selected Anderson's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time. In his major league debut on May 30, Anderson performed in a relief role, striking out the first four batters he faced. Anderson completed 2 innings, striking out seven before giving up a single to Miguel Cabrera, and recorded the win.

References

External links

McNeese Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Grant 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Port Arthur, Texas Baseball players from Texas African-American baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players McNeese Cowboys baseball players Arizona League Mariners players Everett AquaSox players Clinton LumberKings players Hickory Crawdads players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players 21st-century African-American sportspeople