Anthony Eyanson Changes the Orioles Pitching Trajectory
Photo Credit: MLB.com
When you dive into the Orioles as a whole, it’s obvious that this team needs to take the next steps forward. For years, all we heard was that “the kids are coming,” but now they are here. The main issue is this core hasn’t been able to recover after their 100+ win season in 2023 and there’s also a playoff berth with Corbin Burnes in the fold.
The Orioles behaved differently this winter, emptying the wallet for Pete Alonso, who has been a top five hitter in baseball since June 1. He’s helped put the Orioles into the playoff picture. They’ve shuffled their core by trading franchise catcher at the time in Adley Rutschman. You knew the writing was on the wall after they inked Samuel Bassallo to an extension, but the pieces helped restock the cupboards after the haul they gave up for Shane Baz.
Pitching has always been a need for this team, specifically a bonafide ace, even though Baz and Kyle Bradish are solid arms at the forefront and locked in for the foreseeable future. One of the main pieces and arguably the centerpiece of the Rutschman trade was Anthony Eyanson. Eyanson is an arm that changes the trajectory of this pitching pipeline and gives them a clearer future outlook.
The LSU alum was taken in the third round by the Red Sox and was presumably a steal in the draft. The Red Sox also took Marcus Phillips out of Tennessee, in what was considered a successful draft by most.
In 2025, Anthony had a strong season for the Tigers, having a 3.00 ERA across 108 innings pitched. He became a strikeout machine on the staff, pitching behind Kade Anderson. Eyanson came into the Red Sox organization with the right attitude – work hard, increase velocity, and propel himself forward. He did just that before the trade.
He made five starts with the Greenville drive, giving up one earned run over 21 innings of work. Base traffic was minimal and having a 34:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio certainly helped. He got promoted to Portland and in the larger sample size showed the same promise as Greenville.
In Portland, he had a 1.69 ERA in 48 innings of work. He had 60 strikeouts to 23 walks, doing a tremendous job of limiting traffic, which has carried right over into the Orioles system. Eyanson has made four starts (21 IP), and has given up five earned runs. Although, he has a whopping 32 to 8 strikeout to walk ratio, as well as a 1.14 WHIP and a .208 batting average against him. To put it bluntly, he’s consistent and is a dominant force whichever level he is pitching at. The under-the-surface stats back him up.
Anthony Eyanson Advanced Stats, Source: tjstats
Eyanson does many things very well. You want to see the walk rate come down a bit, but the strikeout rate is through the roof. He is a pitcher that possesses a lot of swing and miss and the swinging strike rate is at the top of the class. Furthermore, he will get you to chase outside the zone. The Orioles haven’t had an arm with the ceiling of his in quite some time. This was the arm to get the deal to the finish line and deservedly so.
Between his elite fastball with increased velocity, his vicious slider (with great swing and miss), and a good curveball, he has the tools to be a very well rounded and powerful arm. The Orioles struck gold with landing the caliber of talent and he makes their future rotation very bright.