Anthony Eyanson’s first crack at the Portland Sea Dogs came with the kind of line that turns heads: six innings, one run, four hits, no walks and eight strikeouts.
That outing came Thursday for the Double-A Chesapeake Baysox, and it was especially notable because Portland was the organization that drafted him before the Boston Red Sox dealt the right-hander to the Baltimore Orioles in early August. In Chesapeake’s 5-4 loss, Eyanson still looked every bit like one of the organization’s most intriguing arms.
Baltimore’s No. 2 prospect on MLB Pipeline has been rolling since arriving with the Baysox. He has yet to allow more than two runs in any start with Chesapeake, and Thursday marked his third straight outing with eight strikeouts. With the minor league season nearing its end, Eyanson is giving the Orioles plenty to like as he closes out the year.
The 21-year-old’s path to this point has moved fast. After a standout season at LSU, Boston took him in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft.
He made his pro debut this season and was overpowering at High-A before getting bumped to Double-A in May. Then came the trade deadline move that sent him to Baltimore as part of the deal for catcher Adley Rutschman.
The numbers have backed up the buzz. Eyanson owns a 1.51 ERA across 21 minor league games this year, with 134 strikeouts in 95 1/3 innings. Since the trade, he’s posted a 2.00 ERA and 40 strikeouts in five Double-A starts for Chesapeake, while allowing just six earned runs and eight walks in 27 innings.
Chesapeake’s regular season ends on Sept. 13, so Eyanson will most likely only get one more Double-A start in 2026. Even so, he’s already made a strong case that he’s one of the pitching prospects worth tracking closely heading into 2027. If he keeps pitching like this, a big league debut by the end of next year would not come as a surprise.
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Taylor Ward Has Already Become A Mariners Frustration
Taylor Wards move from Baltimore to Seattle was supposed to give the Mariners a bat that could steady the lineup after the deadline deal that sent three prospects back to the Orioles. Instead, his start in Seattle has only sharpened the hindsight around the trade, because the production the Mariners were counting on has not followed him west. For Baltimore, the deal already looks like one that brought in a useful package of young talent while moving on from an outfielder whose value had been climbing.
What has made the early returns sting for Seattle is how sharply Wards offense has dropped off compared with what he showed in Baltimore. His lower OPS and bWAR with the Mariners have turned the trade into an easy target for criticism, especially as the deadline moves are being graded in real time around the league. For the Orioles, it is the kind of transaction that can age well if even one of those prospects develops into a meaningful big-league piece, while Seattle is left waiting for Ward to justify the cost. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Young Core Is Suddenly Facing A Debate Fans Feared
The Orioles built their rise around a wave of young talent that seemed ready to grow together, with Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Coby Mayo all coming through the system in a tight span from 2019 to 2022. For a while, that group gave Baltimore a clean roadmap: develop the core, let it mature and keep the window open. But the 2024 season has also reminded everyone how fragile that kind of plan can be when injuries pile up and performance swings from player to player.
Rutschmans move to the Red Sox in August only sharpened the conversation around what the Orioles actually have now versus what they were supposed to have. Some of the young bats have flashed the upside that made the organization so optimistic, while others have had a harder time turning promise into consistency. For a fan base that spent years waiting for this exact moment, the debate is no longer about whether the talent exists - it is about which pieces can still be counted on to carry the group forward. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans Just Got Another Reason To Believe In That Trade
The trade deadline deal already looked promising on paper, and these past few weeks have only added to the buzz around the Orioles side of it. Eyanson, now Baltimores No. 2 prospect, keeps piling up impressive outings in Double-A, most recently striking out eight over six innings even in a 5-4 loss. For a pitcher in his first professional season, the early returns have been hard to ignore.
Since the move, Eyanson has turned in 40 strikeouts against just eight walks over 27 innings, and he has fanned at least seven hitters in every outing. The 2025 third-round pick has shown the kind of consistency that tends to make a front office feel better about a deadline swing, even if the full payoff is still ahead. For Orioles fans, it is another reminder that this trade may have given the organization a real arm to dream on. [Read more 🡒]