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Chicago White Sox's Anderson on list of talented young AL shortstops

Look around the American League and seemingly every club has a talented young shortstop.

In the AL Central alone, Cleveland has 23-year-old star Francisco Lindor and Detroit has 27-year-old Jose Iglesias.

Then there's Houston's 22-year-old Carlos Correra, who already has established himself as an MVP candidate.

Boston's 24-year-old Xander Bogaerts has similar aspirations, while 27-year-old Brad Miller (Tampa Bay) and 26-year-old Marcus Semien (Oakland) combined for 57 home runs and 156 RBI last season.

New York's Didi Gregorius also had a big year in 2016, but the 27-year-old infielder is going to have a difficult time keeping his job with No. 1 prospect Gleyber Torres - former property of the Chicago Cubs - making a rapid rise to the major leagues at 20.

Fortunately for the Chicago White Sox, Tim Anderson also is prominently pictured in the team photo of quality young AL shortstops.

Joining the Sox from Class AAA Charlotte in early June last season, the 23-year-old posted a .283/.306/.432 hitting line with 22 doubles, 6 triples, 9 home runs, 30 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 99 games.

Among AL rookies, Anderson ranked first in doubles, tied for first with 33 multihit games, was second with 57 runs and third with 116 hits.

"Timmy's proven to us that he's fully capable of being an excellent everyday shortstop," general manager Rick Hahn said of the White Sox's first-round draft pick in 2013. "You have yourself a young, controllable piece at a premium position with all-star capabilities. Certainly, there are areas on the fringes of his game that you would like to improve, but this is a very young player who acquitted himself very well at the big-league level in his initial tryout.

"You see the league adjust to him and he's going to have to continue to make adjustments back. We remain real excited about what this guy can do for us in the future."

There were plenty of questions about Anderson's ability to play shortstop in the major leagues, but the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native showed he has the skills to handle the demanding defensive position despite some expected rough spots.

With the Sox looking for Anderson to replace Adam Eaton in the leadoff spot this season, taking more pitches is the obvious key.

In his first three months with the White Sox, Anderson had only 7 walks in 292 at-bats. In the final month, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder walked six times in 118 at-bats.

"I think as I get more relaxed and adjust to what's happening in a situation, I'll start walking," he said. "I'm not worried about it. If I just continue to do what I've been doing, I'll be fine."

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