Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports on Tim Anderson and Luis Arraez partnership in the middle of the Marlins infield. This description of Anderson took me a little by surprise:

Tim Anderson, the Miami Marlins’ reserved, All-Star, one-time batting champion shortstop, had been his typical quiet, laid-back self for the early portion of spring training after signing a one-year deal with the team on Feb. 24. He was taking his time to get his feet under him, putting in extra work in the batting cage and taking groundballs early in the morning to put his hopeful bounceback season in full motion.

Arraez the Marlins’ boisterous, All-Star, two-time batting champion second baseman knew it was a matter of time before Anderson broke out of his shell.

That day was Wednesday. “He talked a lot today,” Arraez said that day, “so I was excited.”

MiamiHerald.com

Anderson struck me as a self-promoter, but it’s possible to be both. The good news is that Anderson appears to be healthy. Here’s manager Skip Schumaker on Anderson’s spring:

“You can tell what it looks like when he’s healthy,” Schumaker said. “He’s fast twitch, and really strong. And when you have your legs, that’s what hitting is. You have to have your legs underneath you. When you don’t have them, it’s tough to hit, and he’s got them now. He feels good — he and [hitting coach John] Mabry have been working hard together. He’s buying in defensively and offensively. He’s a really good Major League player, and people maybe forgot how good he was.”

There is talk in the article about using Anderson at the top of the order, although FanGraphs still has him batting fifth. Arraez and Anderson batted 1-2 on Saturday, and if Anderson’s power returns, that’s a pretty good punch at the top.

Spring hasn’t be kind to Anderson at the plate, however. He is six for 28 with two extra-base hits and no walks. On top of that, he struck out eleven times. So far, his batting eye is not there.