The Chicago White Sox have a lot of people to blame for their horrendous downfall the past couple of years and while no player should be singled out as the scapegoat, it is insane how Tim Anderson is now one of the worst players in MLB. He was once the straw that stirred the drink and now he’s one of the team’s biggest problems.

Sure, we see former All-Stars rapidly decline, but that’s more common when guys are well past their prime. Anderson turned 30-years-old on June 23, 2023, and headed to the All-Star break as the worst qualified hitter in baseball. No, Tim Anderson hasn’t simply regressed this season, Tim Anderson is the worst hitter in MLB by almost every single stat you look at.

Tim Anderson 2019-22

After three mediocre seasons in the majors, Tim Anderson got on everyone’s radar with his breakout 2019 season. The White Sox shortstop slashed .335/.357/.508, leading to a 128 wRC+ and 4.5 fWAR. Anderson won the AL Batting Title, leading all of baseball with his .335 average. In the shortened 2020 season, Anderson finished 7th in AL MVP voting, after posting a 2.4 fWAR in 49 games. The shortstop did win a Silver Slugger Award thanks to a 140 wRC+ and a slash line of .322/.357/.529, with 10 home runs in 221 plate appearances.

The 2021 season was Anderson’s best year during his career so far, as he was named to his first MLB All-Star Game and ended the year with a career-high 4.6 fWAR. In 2022, Anderson made his second consecutive All-Star team and for the fourth year in a row the shortstop batted above .300.

From 2019-22, Anderson played in 374 games. He put up a slash line of .318/.347/.473, a 123 wRC+ and his combined 13.6 fWAR ranked 27th out of 247 players. However, since his injuries in 2022, and especially in the first half of 2023, Anderson has been insanely awful on offense.

Tim Anderson 2023 Offensive Rankings

This is where Tim Anderson ranks among 150 qualified hitters through the 2023 All-Star Break. (Via FanGraphs)

43 wRC+: 150 out of 150
.259 OBP: 150 out of 150
.263 SLG: 150 out of 150
.223 AVG: 134 out of 150
.234 wOBA: 150 out of 150
.281 xwOBA: 145 out of 150
-1.1 fWAR: 148 out of 150

There is only one player with more plate appearances than Anderson who has still not hit a home run and that’s Cleveland Guardians outfielder Myles Straw. The Guardians right-handed hitter has gone homer-less in 331 plate appearances so far in 2023, but Straw has never been a big power guy, hitting a total of 5 home runs in nearly 500 MLB games.

Meanwhile, Anderson is at 290 plate appearances without a home run this season. He set a career high of 20 home runs back in 2018 and has gotten to double digit dingers in five seasons. Going back to last season, Anderson last hit a home run on July 15, 2022, against the Minnesota Twins. Anderson was shut down for the season at the end of last year, as he last played on Aug. 6.

The White Sox have a $14 million club option for Anderson in 2024.