Two Guys Talkin’ Trades – Tyler Anderson

7-28-21 – By Joe Boyd

I was on vacation for the first flurry of trade activity down at 115 Federal St.  But luckily, Justin was around to keep us abreast of the action.  I’m back, and just my luck, a blockbuster falls into my lap! Then out of my lap.. Then back into my lap. 

Tyler Anderson for Carter Bins, C & Joaquin Tejada, RHP

The packages from Philadelphia and Seattle look eerily similar here.  The original deal had Abrahan Gutierrez, C (35+ FV, $1.0M) and Christian Hernandez, RHP (40FV, $1.0M) for Anderson ($4.7M).  This deal is for Carter Bins, C (40FV, $2.0M) and Joaquin Tejada, RHP (40FV, $1.0M). 

According to Fangraphs, Bins “has plus bat speed, rare speed for a catcher, and in college had a really athletic build. His build has thickened since he was drafted and he’s now put together more like a typical catcher, though it hasn’t cost him much twitch or explosion. Bins’ swing is grooved and he needs defensive polish, but he at least has raw power/arm strength carrying tools and a good chance to be a whiff-prone backup.”  If you look at the full scouting report for Bins, they are low on his Hit Tool (40FV) and give him rather average power (45FV).  This season, however, Bins has shown some incredible ability to get on base (.422 OBP) and above average power (.209 ISO) despite striking out at a 29% clip.  So that scouting report may actually come to fruition, but the athleticism is certainly an intriguing factor.  Bins has been slotted into the #42 slot in Pittsburgh’s system, he was 29th in Seattle’s. 

Tejada is young, just 18 years old, so he has some time to develop.  Fangraphs does not have a proper scouting report on him, but they do put grades on his stuff.  While currently, his fastball only hits 90-92 and is graded as a 40FV, he does have an intriguing plus (60-FV) curveball. He also projects to have a 55-FV slider and average command.  I plugged Tejada into my Sim Score projections and his best comp is Yoljeldriz Diaz in the Yankees system.  In that write up, Longenhagen said, “Because he doesn’t have clear, framed-based velocity projection, it’s important that he either develop a bevy of good pitches or sniper’s command”  Now that’s for Diaz, but considering Tejada has a plus delivery and plus athleticism, he has the opportunity/ability to do both. Tejada has slotted into the #40 slot in Pittsburgh’s system. 

So that’s a package of young prospects for $3.0M which falls pretty far below our valuation.  That being said, both have these prospects bring with them some serious intrigue.  I love the opportunity to add an athletic catcher to the system.  And on top of that a young, developing pitcher that has the opportunity and the traits to develop into the main piece of the deal.  
Update:  Fangraphs did put together a report on Tejada: “​​Tejada threw just five innings in the DSL before he was traded to the Pirates. He’s an athletic, 5-foot-11 righty with a high arm 3/4s arm slot. He doesn’t throw especially hard, only sitting in the low-90s right now, but his fastball has considerable movement despite lacking explosive spin. Tejada has real talent for spinning a breaking ball, with his breakers rotating in at around 2900rpm on average. DSL TrackMan data is a little less reliable but it, plus a little bit of video, is what I have to go off in this instance. Tejada has an athletic delivery and is well-built even though he’s not especially tall. He’s not a lock to throw harder but has a shot to, and it’s the main thing missing from an interesting stuff foundation for such a young arm.”