Anderson gave up two hits and a walk over three scoreless innings while striking out four in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox.
Making his first outing of the spring, Anderson had little trouble against a Boston lineup mostly made up of utility players and fringe major-leaguers. The 23-year-old right-hander is coming off a solid first full season in the Atlanta rotation, but his 23.2 percent strikeout rate was a step backwards from the 29.7 percent rate he posted over six starts in 2020, not to mention his minor-league numbers. If Anderson can regain some dominance while taking on a bigger workload, he could emerge as a bona fide ace.