Grant Anderson's Stuff Has Been Effective in a Different Way in 2026

At first glance, it doesn’t look like much has changed for Grant Anderson. After emerging as a versatile and durable middle reliever in his first season with the Brewers last year, the right-hander has resumed that role in 2026 with the same results.

From a process standpoint, however, Anderson has not been quite the same guy. He’s issued slightly more walks, and his strikeout rate has dropped by five percentage points. As a result, most ERA estimators believe he’s pitched a bit worse than last year, and it looks as though an abnormally low batting average on balls in play is helping him maintain that shiny ERA.

Aside from those increased walks, it’s not really fair to say that Anderson has pitched worse this season. The real takeaway is that his stuff is playing differently, particularly his signature four-seam fastball.

When Anderson arrived in Milwaukee, he and the Brewers originally leaned into a sinker-sweeper approach and worked in a few elevated four-seamers to left-handed hitters. Over time, that four-seamer took over as Anderson’s primary fastball, becoming just as integral to his breakout as his new sweeper.

The key was his low arm slot, which made it look like the ball was rising as it entered the top of the zone. Despite its pedestrian velocity, opponents whiffed on nearly 40% of swings against Anderson’s four-seamer because it was so challenging to get the bat on top of it. This year, his slot has increased ever so slightly, creating a ripple effect on how that fastball plays.

The change is most reflected in the vertical approach angle of Anderson’s fastball, which measures the steepness at which the pitch crosses home plate. Last year, it had the ninth-lowest VAA among qualified four-seamers, meaning it entered the zone at one of the flattest angles in baseball, prompting so many swings underneath the ball. This year, its VAA ranks 19th. That’s still elite, but in a game of inches, it reduces how far underneath those swings are.

Fewer swings from opposing hitters have been underneath Anderson’s four-seamer this year, which is a big reason why it’s gotten significantly fewer whiffs. However, the average launch angle against it has increased. That means many of those swings and misses have instead become high fly balls and pop-ups, which are still nearly automatic outs. It’s a slightly different way of getting to the same result.

The small change to his arm slot has effectively transformed Anderson from a swing-and-miss pitcher to a pop-up king. His whiff rate has dropped from an excellent 30.9% last year to a below-average 24.1% this year, but his 13.8% pop-up rate ranks ninth among qualified pitchers, according to Statcast.

Pitchers who allow such high fly balls usually have a lower opponent BABIP, so Anderson is not necessarily getting lucky that more of them are finding gloves. It’s why xERA (a Statcast-based metric that looks at how often batted balls of each exit velocity and launch angle combination go for hits) believes he has actually been better, even as most of his peripheral stats have taken a step backward. Hitters are making more contact, but in ways that typically lead to fewer hits.

Ideally, Anderson will rediscover that lower release, allowing him to be a more balanced pitcher who can get swings and misses when he needs them. But outs are outs, and he still has a reliable way to get them.