Right-hander Isaac Anderson made his debut with the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League on Thursday, July 23 in match up with the South Bend Cubs.

The 21-year old native of Boise, Idaho attended high school in neighboring Meridian, Idaho leading Rocky Mountain High School to a district and state championship in 2012. In his third season with the Grizzlies he earned first team all-conference and all-state honors and completed his academic pursuit as a 3-time all-conference academic honoree.

After his high school graduation he registered at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls and played two years with the Golden Eagles.

As a freshman in 2013 he went 3-0 with two saves and a 0.82 ERA in 22 innings pitched while allowing just 11 hits and striking out 21.

In the 2013 First Year Player Draft he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 34th round. He chose not to sign but to return to the Golden Eagles for another season.

In 2014 Anderson moved more into the starting role with 11 of his 13 appearances as starts. He compiled a 4-5 record with a 3.90 ERA over 60 innings and pitching three compete games.

Once again he was selected in the June draft following his Southern Idaho season. This time the Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the 19th round and once again he chose not to sign.

Following his sophomore season with Southern Idaho Isaac Anderson transferred to Wichita State University. He appeared in 15 games with the Shockers, 13 of them as a starter, compiling a 3.94 ERA in 77.2 innings while striking out 74.

On the final day of the 2015 First Year Player Draft five Wichita State baseball athletes were selected by major league baseball teams. Isaac Anderson was one of them drafted in the 40th round (1,212nd overall) by the Dodgers and this time he signed.

Following his selection he posted on Instagram :”A moment I’ll never forget. The beginning of a new chapter in my life and I couldn’t do it without all of the support from my family, close friends, coaches and teammates. Can’t wait to start my career as a Dodger!!”

21-year-old Isaac Anderson said that signing his contract with the Dodgers was “A moment I’ll never forget. (Image courtesy of Isaac Anderson)

Anderson reported to the AZL Dodgers and made his first appearance on June 22nd against the AZL Padres. He pitched a scoreless inning and tossed another scoreless inning on June 25th against the AZL Reds. That was to be last appearance with the Dodgers.

He was promoted to the Ogden Raptors of the rookie level Pioneer League where he collected his first win as a professional on July 1st pitching two scoreless innings against the Idaho Falls Chukars while striking out four.

Anderson’s promotion came so quickly that there was no time to get his name on the back of a jersey. The fans who were in attendance watching him enter the game in the seventh inning saw “Torres” on the back of his borrowed Raptors jersey.

After pitching 12.2 innings with the Raptors over six appearance in which he posted a 0.71 ERA Anderson was promoted for a second time in less than a month.

Anderson’s last appearance with the Raptors was a start and his first with the Loons was also a start – a very successful one. Over four innings on Thursday night he gave up one hit while striking out two and issuing no walks. He threw 60 pitched of which 40 were strikes.

The Loons had one of those nights when everything went right at the plate. The 13 runs scored Thursday were a season high for the Great Lakes squad in a 13-0 win. Every batter in the lineup had at least one hit. Matt Beaty had four hits while Italian outfielder Frederico Celli had three hits, two of them doubles. Mike Ahmed, Jimmy Allen, Alex Verdugo and Julian Leon each chipped in with two hits.

Anderson had not pitched the required five innings to notch the win. However, he most likely was quite pleased to finish the night with four scoreless innings and “Anderson” on the back of his Class-A Loons jersey.