One of the nicest surprises of the Orioles’ minor league season was the power displayed by Ethan Anderson. A native of Hawaii, who grew up in the Norfolk area, Anderson was drafted as a catcher/first baseman from the University of Virginia in the second round in 2024.
In 2025, Anderson’s first full season of professional baseball, he hit just four home runs and had a .677 OPS in 90 games, 70 with High-A Aberdeen and 20 with Double-A Chesapeake.
This past season, Anderson hit 24 home runs, drove in 55 runs and batted .288 with a healthy .919 OPS in 93 games, 82 for Chesapeake, six for High-A Frederick and then five in the final week of the season for Triple-A Norfolk.
Anderson is the Orioles’ No. 16 prospect, and he got two rewards for his strong showing with the Baysox — a promotion to his hometown Tides and a rainy weekend in New York on the Orioles’ taxi squad.
“Growing up in Virginia Beach, going to those Tides games, it was exciting,” Anderson said at Yankee Stadium during the last weekend of the season. “Having my parents right there and all my friends and family that I grew up with, and they’re able to come to every single game, and also being in the clubhouse, I’m seeing some guys that I haven’t seen since spring training.”
Anderson points to his 19 games for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League after the 2025 season as a big boost.
“That’s when it seemed to click for me,” he said. “Being around different guys, learning the best ways to go about my work, to be successful, and then just running with it there, going to big league spring training, and then just being consistent every single day in Double-A and then getting that week in Triple-A.
“Being able to go out there and barrel the balls for any good pitches, and do my job behind the plate.”
Anderson, who doesn’t need to be protected from the Rule 5 draft until December 2027, will likely begin next season at Norfolk but not before getting a longer look during Orioles spring training.
He’ll be catching some of the impressive young pitchers he saw with the Baysox — left-handers Joseph Dzierwa and Caden Hunter, the third- and fourth-rated prospects by MLB Pipeline. Toward the end of the season, Anderson also got to catch right-hander Anthony Eyanson, the team’s No. 2 prospect, who came to the Orioles’ organization in the trade that sent Adley Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox.
“If you’re an opposing team, that’s a scary week,” Anderson said. “All those guys are great, how they handle the zone. It was fun to catch them. It’s quick games, quick innings, also continue to develop, just catching nasty pitching. Being able to go through scouting reports with them and advance meetings and develop together.”
It seems likely that if Anderson has a good start to the season at Norfolk, he’ll get the call to come to Baltimore. In each of the last two seasons, the Orioles have used a franchise record seven catchers.
“You’re always confident in yourself,” Anderson said. “I feel like I can go out there and perform. I’ll continue to try and develop, continue to learn, be a sponge while I’m up here, sitting in on meetings and continue to learn.
“I don’t know the timeline. I’m still learning everything for myself for the first time, just trying to sit in on the meetings and talk to the guys and learn as much as I can.”
In Anderson’s draft, outfielder Vance Honeycutt was selected in the first round. Honeycutt and infielder Griff O’Ferrall, Anderson’s Virginia teammate, were taken just before him. Anderson played against Honeycutt, who was with North Carolina.
Honeycutt hit only .171 with 178 strikeouts in 101 games at Aberdeen in 2025, and after another rough season at High-A, where he hit .182 in 63 games with the Keys, he was promoted to the Baysox.
Anderson got to watch him get hot at Chesapeake, hitting .288 with five home runs and 13 RBIs and a .997 OPS in 20 games.
Like Anderson, Honeycutt has been sent to the Arizona Fall League.
“He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever been around,” Anderson said. “He plays Gold Glove defense in the outfield. I’ve seen him catch balls that I’ve never seen caught before.
“He’s a great hitter, great athlete, swings the bat really fast. I wouldn’t say that much has changed. I know he started seeing a different hitting guy. He gives a lot of credit to that. I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing, but whatever he’s doing, keep doing it.”
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