The former third-round pick broke out in a big way in 2026.
Despite missing the Double-A playoffs with a 71-65 record, the Boston Red Sox' Double-A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs, hosted two of baseball’s biggest breakout prospects: shortstop Franklin Arias and starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson, over the course of the year.
Although Eyanson was acquired by the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline in a blockbuster deal that sent Adley Rutschman to Boston, he is racking up accolades as Minor League Baseball announces its end-of-season awards.
On Monday afternoon, MiLB announced its Double-A award winners, naming Eyanson the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.
The 21-year-old right-hander had a meteoric rise in his first professional season. After being selected in the third round out of Louisiana State University, Eyanson was assigned to High-A Greenville to begin the 2026 season. In five starts with Greenville, Eyanson allowed only one earned run on seven hits across 20.1 innings, while striking out 47.9 percent of batters faced.
In an aggressive move, Eyanson was promoted to Double-A on May 3, where his dominance continued. In 11 appearances for Portland prior to being dealt, Eyanson allowed only nine earned runs on 28 hits across 48 innings of work, good for a 1.69 ERA and an opponent batting average of .172. The 21-year-old’s incredible debut season continued as he joined Baltimore’s Double-A affiliate, Chesapeake, upon entering the system. In six starts with the BaySox, Eyanson posted a 2.03 ERA, holding batters to a .221 batting average.
Overall, Eyanson posted a 1.82 ERA in 79 innings, striking out 34.6 percent of the batters he faced, the best mark among all Eastern League pitchers with at least 70 innings pitched and second best among all Double-A pitchers (min. 70.0 IP), trailing only Seattle Mariners top prospect Kade Anderson.
After a breakout year, Eyanson has skyrocketed to MLB Pipeline’s No. 46-rated prospect, en route to being named both an Eastern League All-Star and Pitcher of the Year. Eyanson was joined on the All-Star team by former teammates Arias and Brooks Brannon, the former of whom was named Player of the Year.
The awards might not stop there for Eyanson, though, as he’s been named one of three finalists for the Minor League Pitcher of the Year alongside Anderson and Chesapeake teammate Joseph Dzierwa.
The Minor League Awards will be announced on Sept. 28.
Up next for the Sox
Thanks to some help from the Atlanta Braves, the Red Sox secured their place in the postseason on Sunday afternoon. They are off on Monday before opening up the final homestand of the regular season on Tuesday, welcoming the Cleveland Guardians to Fenway Park for a three-game set. Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.02 ERA) will get the start opposite fellow rookie left-hander Parker Messick (12-9, 2.57 ERA) for Cleveland. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. ET.
