Ethan Anderson spent last year looking like just another catching prospect buried in Baltimore’s system. A year later, he’s forcing his way into the conversation.
What changed most wasn’t just Anderson’s bat. It was the Orioles’ entire catching picture.
Twelve months ago, Adley Rutschman was still the established starter, Samuel Basallo had only just arrived in Baltimore, and there didn’t appear to be much room for anyone else. Now Rutschman is gone to Boston in a blockbuster trade after an injury-plagued first half, Basallo has dealt with his own injury problems and profiles as more of a part-timer behind the plate, and Baltimore has already cycled through Chadwick Tromp, Sam Huff, Carlos Narváez, Yohel Pozo and Jake Rogers.
That leaves an opening, and Anderson has positioned himself to grab it.
The 2024 second-round pick out of Virginia spent most of the year at Double-A Chesapeake and became the middle-of-the-order presence that held the Baysox lineup together. His season started quietly enough. In the first month, the 23-year-old switch-hitter batted .302, but he managed only one home run and four total extra-base hits, with a .397 slugging percentage that lagged behind his .429 on-base mark.
Then the power arrived in May. Anderson broke out for seven home runs and three doubles that month, pushing his slugging percentage to .484. The tradeoff was a drop in average to .220 and an on-base percentage of .317, a reminder that he was still sorting out the offensive package.
June is when it really snapped into place. Over 21 games, Anderson again went deep seven times, but this time the power came with a .286 average, a .368 OBP and a strikeout rate that fell from 26% to 14 percent.
He kept rolling from there. After missing most of July with an ankle injury, Anderson came back in August and caught fire. Over his final 25 games, split between Frederick, Chesapeake and Norfolk, he hit .333/.390/.604 with a .995 OPS, eight more homers and a strikeout rate that stayed under 20 percent.
The brief stint in Norfolk to close the season may have been the most encouraging stretch of all. In five games, Anderson collected a hit in every contest, launched his first two Triple-A homers and showed that the jump in competition didn’t faze him.
By the end of the year, Anderson had put together a .288/.375/.544 line with a .919 OPS, 14 doubles, 24 home runs, 55 RBIs and a 22.1% strikeout rate. Of his 344 at-bats, 303 came with Chesapeake, and 21 of his 24 home runs came against Double-A pitching. Among Baltimore’s Top 30 prospects, only Wehiwa Aloy and Aron Estrada hit more homers, with 25 apiece.
Anderson’s switch-hitting profile adds another layer. He showed more raw pop from the right side, where 18 of his 24 home runs came and his slugging percentage was nearly 100 points higher. Still, he handled right-handed pitching well as a left-handed hitter, batting .306 against RHPs compared to .280 against LHPs.
He has already reached Triple-A, and he is likely to share catching duties with Creed Willems when next season opens. The two have the same basic question hanging over them: the bats look real for a catcher, but the defense remains uncertain enough to make a long-term home behind the plate hard to guarantee.
Anderson did log 500 defensive innings at catcher this season, along with 207 at first base. If he can keep proving he belongs behind the plate, he could be first in line to replace Narváez in Baltimore next season. The Orioles have shown they can help catchers improve defensively, too, with Basallo going from a below-average minor league defender to showing major strides as a receiver in his first big league season.
A year ago, Anderson wouldn’t have been much more than a name in the system. Now, with Rutschman gone and Baltimore needing someone who can pair with Basallo and handle 75-plus games, he’s moved onto a short list of players who could debut in 2027.
In Other News...
Orioles Finally Have A Young Starter Prospect Fans Can Believe In
Joseph Dzierwa has given the Orioles something they have spent years trying to identify again: a young starting pitching prospect who looks the part. The 2025 second-round pick has handled his first professional season well, moving from High-A Frederick to Double-A Chesapeake while missing bats and keeping runs off the board. His rise has been steady enough to earn a spot in the 2026 All-Star Futures Game, and it has also pushed him onto MLB Pipelines top 100 prospects list at No. 86.
For an organization that always seems to be balancing short-term contention with the long search for homegrown rotation help, Dzierwas early success matters. Scouts and analysts have pointed to both his command and his pitching mix as reasons for optimism, even if there is still debate about exactly how high his ceiling goes as a big league starter. For now, the important part is simpler: Baltimore finally has a young arm fans can follow with real belief, and the next step in his development will be one worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face Tough Calls On Free Agents Who May Not Be Back
The Orioles are heading into a pivotal offseason after a disappointing year and the trade of Adley Rutschman, and the front office now has a stack of familiar names to weigh as it thinks ahead to 2027. Five key players are set to reach free agency, giving the club a chance to reset parts of the roster while also deciding which contributors are worth trying to keep in the fold.
Trevor Rogers, Chris Bassitt, Andrew Kittredge, Ryan Mountcastle and Keegan Akin all bring different cases to the table, whether it is performance, injuries or simple fit with where Baltimore is headed next. Some of those decisions look far cleaner than others, and the Orioles will have to sort out which departures are inevitable and which could still be avoided as the winter unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Nearly Pulled Off An Adley Rutschman Blockbuster With The Yankees
Adley Rutschmans name surfaced in a conversation that would have jolted the Orioles and the rest of the American League: Baltimore reportedly checked with the Yankees on a possible swap built around its star catcher. The framework, according to the report, would have sent Rutschman to New York in exchange for several Yankees pieces, including Austin Wells, Elmer Rodriguez, Yostin Pena, and either Will Warren or Ryan Weathers.
In the end, the Yankees passed, leaning on Wells game-calling and the value of their bullpen depth as they position for the postseason. For Baltimore, the episode underscores how closely the market can circle around one of the franchises most important players, and it leaves open the possibility that New York could circle back to its catching plans once the season is over. [Read more 🡒]