The Orioles’ system has a new pitching pairing to watch after the trade that sent Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox at Monday’s Trade Deadline, and both arms wasted little time making an impression.
Anthony Eyanson, now Baltimore’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 49 prospect in baseball, took the mound for Double-A Chesapeake and delivered in the Baysox’s 5-2 win over Harrisburg at Prince George’s Stadium. The right-hander piled up 16 whiffs, the fourth-most at Double-A on the night, and struck out nine over five innings. He gave up four hits and two earned runs, with both runs coming on solo homers.
“Don't want to give up homers, tired of giving up homers,” Eyanson said after his start. “Overall, pretty good.
Just put a pretty big emphasis on competing and going after them. I executed that and want to just keep getting better.”
The outing fit the profile Eyanson built in the Red Sox system, where he was dominant across High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland with a 1.32 ERA in 68 1/3 innings. Before that, he put together a huge final season at LSU, striking out 152 in 108 innings in 2025. Boston then took him in the third round of last summer’s Draft, and his pro resume already includes a fastball and slider that both grade as plus-or-better - a 60-grade fastball and a 65-grade slider.
“I’m really excited,” Eyanson said. “I’m just very blessed and grateful for the opportunity.
I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and really excited for these new beginnings. I’ve hit it off right away with everybody in the pitching development, the guys here and everyone around the clubhouse.
It’s just been great overall and I’m just really excited to keep on going.”
Kyson Witherspoon, Baltimore’s No. 7 prospect, also made his organizational debut and turned in a mixed but intriguing outing for High-A Frederick in a 3-1 win over Jersey Shore at BayCare Ballpark. The 2025 first-round pick from Oklahoma allowed one unearned run in 4 1/3 innings, produced 13 swings-and-misses, and finished with three strikeouts and five walks.
Witherspoon had posted a 4.78 ERA in 17 starts with High-A Greenville before the deal, though he still carried a 2.3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also closed his college career on a high note, putting up a 2.65 ERA in 16 starts at Oklahoma in 2025.
Eyanson said having Witherspoon in the same system makes the adjustment easier.
“It’s really cool to have someone you went through the Red Sox with now being here,” Eyanson said of Witherspoon. “If we have any questions or want to ask about the similarities or differences, we pretty much have the same knowledge about it. It makes it really cool.”
Both pitchers were back on the mound five days after the trade, trying to keep rolling after the abrupt switch. Eyanson described the last week as a whirlwind, including the moment he found out while playing Fortnite.
“Pretty hectic,” Eyanson said of the past week. “I was on Fortnite when I found out I was getting traded.
[Red Sox senior director of player development] Brian Abraham called. I just looked at it for a little bit and said, ‘Yup, probably heading out somewhere.’
I had seen some posts about the big trade. You can’t control everything.
The only thing I can control is how I approach it.”
In Other News...
Pete Alonso Finally Gave Orioles Fans A Reason To Feel Hope
The Orioles have spent much of this season trying to steady themselves through a rough stretch, and the trade deadline only added to the unease when Adley Rutschman was dealt to Boston. Sitting fourth in the American League East at 56-61, Baltimore has not given its fans many reasons to look past the standings, which is why Pete Alonsos latest outburst carried a little extra weight for a club still searching for something to build on.
Against the Rangers, Alonso gave Baltimore exactly the kind of jolt it has been missing, and he did it with a performance that felt like a small glimpse of what the lineup could become. Even with the seasons frustrations still hanging around, Alonso sounded optimistic about where the Orioles can go from here, a note of confidence that landed at the right time for a fan base that badly needed one. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Waste Another Strong Start As Familiar Problems Return
Kyle Bradish gave the Orioles exactly what they needed for most of the night, working through six innings and holding Texas to two runs, but Baltimore still came away with a 5-1 loss in its third straight game against the Rangers. The offense never found much rhythm beyond Jackson Hollidays solo home run, and when the margin stayed tight, the kind of miscues the Orioles have been trying to put behind them surfaced again.
Defensive errors helped open the door for the Rangers scoring, turning another solid starting effort into an uphill climb Baltimore could not reverse. For a club trying to steady itself, the combination of missed chances, shaky defense and too little support for Bradish is becoming an all-too-familiar script, and it leaves the Orioles with more questions than answers as this series winds down. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Offensive Collapse Is Raising Bigger Questions About This Roster
Since June 1, the Orioles offense has slid into a stretch that is hard to ignore, with the club sitting near the bottom of the league in runs scored, batting average, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging. Injuries have played a role, but the bigger concern is that the problems have lingered even when the lineup has had enough available pieces to produce more than it has.
What makes the slump sting for Baltimore is that it has started to look less like a temporary dry spell and more like a broader roster issue. The conversation has moved beyond who is hurt and into how the team is building lineups and using its players, which is where the questions get sharper for a club that expected more from its core and its depth. [Read more 🡒]