For any Boston Red Sox fans who aren't familiar with pitcher Jack Anderson, they should be now.
Anderson was a Minor League Rule 5 Draft pick in November of 2024, and he put up quite respectable numbers while pitching for Double-A Portland last season in Boston's system.
The solid effort put him on the World Baseball Classic radar, as he had a connection with Great Britain that made him eligible.
"It was honestly pretty awesome," Anderson told Baseball Now about the experience. "It definitely felt like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. My dad was born in London and we are very close with our family across the pond. Being able to represent your family's heritage and play for the country was awesome. There isn't anything like it. It was an experience I am going to remember forever."
The 26-year-old was thrown right into the fire and was asked to start for the team in an important game in Pool Play against Mexico, who had one of the better lineups in the tournament. Anderson allowed one earned run in three innings of work to kick off the international affair.
"That game was such a great experience for me," Anderson said. "Almost every single player in that lineup was a big leaguer or had big league time. Being in the minors, this is the goal to be facing big league lineups. It was a good test to see where you are at and see how your stuff matches up against these big league players. It's on a big stage in front of a lot of people too. It was a really good experience for my future."
After only logging 11 games in Triple-A so far in his career, the Florida State product is ready for another crack at the level after his success at the WBC showed he can hang with better lineups.
"I think the biggest thing from this experience is the momentum I am feeling from this," Anderson noted. "Every time you break camp, it feels like a lot of things can happen. You can either start off good or start off slow. You have to have the mindset that you prepared yourself the best you can to get things started. The experience like the WBC has helped me with the confidence side of it. I have the momentum now. I just have to keep doing my job and keep it rolling into the season."