Lars Anderson is moving on up the Red Sox minor league system.
According to The Providence Journal, the first baseman was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday after hitting .355 with a .408 on-base percentage with Double-A Portland this season.
"It’s like, wow, I have a lot of butterflies in my stomach. That was the first thing," Anderson told the Journal. "The second thought was, yeah, this is going to be sweet. I’m excited."
Pawtucket manager Torey Lovullo wants Anderson to be the PawSox’ everyday first baseman, which will help Anderson develop into a productive major leaguer.
"He just needs to go in there and play the same type of baseball that he played at Portland," Lovullo said. "He’ll see quickly that the game isn’t that much different at this level. Maybe command the ball a tiny bit more from a pitching standpoint. I’m going to encourage him to be himself, go out there and have fun, and be a good teammate."
Anderson has come a long way in a short time with the Red Sox organization this year. The former 18th-round pick entered last season as the Red Sox’ top prospect, but his struggles in Portland made critics question his long-term future in the organization.
Anderson has roared back to life with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 62 at-bats to start the season. Outfielder Josh Reddick is happy to see the strong performance from his fellow prospect.
"Last year was a really off year for him, so that’s kind of frustrating for him, I’m sure," Reddick said. "He’s turned it around, from what I’ve seen, so if he can come up here and help us out up here, we could sure use it, a little bit of spark."
Anderson’s promotion to the PawSox brings him one step closer to becoming a major league contributor in Boston.
