Anderson was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and helped his father with the family business following his parents' divorce.

He spent the next several years rising through the team's farm system, suffering a setback in 2011 when an elbow injury caused him to miss nearly the entire season.

He spent most of the 2021 season on a one-year contract for the Phillies, but closed out the year in the Texas Rangers minor league system.

[3] Anderson also wanted to play gridiron football, but his mother was afraid that he would suffer an injury that would hinder his baseball career.

Hargrove told KAUZ-TV in 2018, "He was such a hard worker, mowed yards in his high school days to earn extra money.

[4] In his senior season with Rider, Anderson pitched three no-hitters, including one against division rivals Wichita Falls High School.

[6] As he was smaller than many of his peers, standing at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and weighing 140 pounds (64 kg), he did not receive many recruitment offers from college baseball teams.

[3] In the 2006–07 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) season, Anderson led North Central Texas pitchers in strikeouts, with 67 in 61+1⁄3 innings pitched.

[3] Anderson became a critical member of the Oklahoma Sooners' bullpen, with a crucial long reliever performance against Wichita State in the 2009 NCAA regional playoffs.

[8] Leading the Oklahoma pitching rotation with 26 appearances in 2009, Anderson posted a 3–1 record with a 4.97 ERA, striking out 60 batters in 50+2⁄3 innings.

Anderson's father died shortly after spring training, and the pitcher decided to use the news to push himself harder, telling reporters, "I try to use things like obstacles in life as opportunities to grow, to get better, to learn something from.

[15] That same year, Anderson played in the Arizona Fall League with the Salt River Rafters, going 3–1 with a 3.47 ERA and recording 26 strikeouts in 23+1⁄3 innings.

[16] He was credited with the win in his major league debut on May 11, giving up only two hits and one run in 5+1⁄3 innings of a 5–1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

[17] Anderson continued to dominate in the first part of the season, becoming the first pitcher since Jered Weaver to start his major league career with five consecutive wins.

[18] Sports journalists considered Anderson's consistent performance to be a bright spot amidst the Diamondbacks' disappointing 2014 season.

[20] Going into the 2015 season, Anderson was named as part of a five-man starting rotation for the Diamondbacks that also consisted of Josh Collmenter, Jeremy Hellickson, Rubby De La Rosa, and Trevor Cahill.

[21] On June 13, Anderson pitched 6+1⁄3 hitless innings against the San Francisco Giants before giving up a hit to catcher Buster Posey.

[22] Anderson struggled by the middle of the season, with his poor performance reaching its crest on July 18, when he was taken out of a game against the Giants in the fourth inning after allowing seven runs on 10 hits.

[24] In August, Anderson spent a brief stint in the minor leagues before Hellickson was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury.

[27] In the middle of the season, Anderson struggled with both run control and longevity: between June 8 and July 24, he did not win a single game for the Brewers, and he routinely did not pitch through the end of the fifth inning.

[39] After allowing three runs in 3+2⁄3 innings on September 18, Anderson was removed from the Brewers' starting rotation, and he was left off of the postseason roster entirely.

The previous season, the Jays had suffered a series of trades and injuries that had destabilized their starting rotation, and they were in search of a consistent veteran pitcher.

[43] His worst start of the season came on September 17, 2020, when Anderson gave up five home runs in one inning against the New York Yankees, three of which came from consecutive pitches against Brett Gardner, DJ LeMahieu, and Luke Voit.

On July 25, with starting pitcher Zach Eflin suffering knee tendinitis, Anderson was called back up from his rehab assignment to help the thinned-out pitching staff.

[1] Two days after being released from the Phillies, Anderson signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers, his hometown team.

On July 25, 2022, Anderson signed a minor league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays organization and was assigned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls.

[74] Early in his MLB career, Anderson gained a reputation as a dependable, consistent pitcher for the back of the starting rotation.

[75] This consistent pitching approach has caused Anderson trouble, as his propensity for throwing fastballs down the middle of the plate has led to too many home runs by opposing batters.

[2] For the first three seasons of his major league career, Anderson leaned heavily on a two-pitch repertoire consisting of the changeup and a four-seam fastball.

[85] In 2017, Anderson worked with Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo to increase cancer awareness and raise money for medical programs in Wisconsin and Illinois.