ESPN

I was behind the plate as Oakland A's starter Brett Anderson ramped things up a bit in his second rehab start in the Arizona Rookie League on Thursday night, mixing in his full arsenal over four innings and 63 pitches. He allowed seven hits and one run, with four strikeouts, and certainly wasn't helped by some poor defense behind him.

In his first rehab outing last week (which I also attended), Anderson was limited to 40 pitches and allowed to throw fastballs and changeups only. The velocity was promising -- he was dialing it up to 94 mph -- but he had some problems with location. Given that he was just getting up to speed and not working with a full array of pitches, it was a pretty incomplete look. Anderson is recovering from an elbow problem that has put him on the shelf for a second time this year. Anytime a pitcher has multiple elbow problems in a short period of time, the mind naturally wanders to the possibility of whether Tommy John surgery or flexor tendon surgery is inevitable down the road, but Anderson did his best to dispel that notion Thursday by looking fairly sharp, especially over his final three innings.

To see Jason's full scouting report on Brett Anderson's rehab work, which includes a potentially important change in approach, you must be an ESPN Insider.