Orioles catching and first base prospect Ethan Anderson hit .248/.338/.339 in 361 plate appearances between then-High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Chesapeake in his first full season of pro ball in 2025.
Anderson walked plenty, but the power numbers — just 19 extra-base hits — were underwhelming for a second-round pick out of Virginia in 2024. This year, the production is up across the board. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound switch-hitter is batting .317/.434/.500 with seven extra-base hits in 100 plate appearances for Chesapeake heading into play on May 8.
It’s easy for Anderson, 22, to reflect on what the 2025 season meant for his development.
“I think that first full year of pro ball is just a big year of learning a lot,” Anderson said on Glenn Clark Radio April 30. “It’s the same game you played from tee-ball to high school to college, but playing it every single day for the [132-plus] games that we play a year and understanding the toll it takes on your body and the mental game that goes with it, it’s a lot of learning.”
Anderson said he learned how to approach the day-to-day business of being a professional ballplayer and take care of his body the right way. That learning process extended to the Arizona Fall League. He hit .300/.398/.443 with eight extra-base hits in 83 plate appearances for the Peoria Javelinas.
A few months later, Anderson found himself in big league spring training in Sarasota. He met Orioles manager Craig Albernaz, whom Anderson had known from catching videos on YouTube. A former minor league catcher, Albernaz was hired as Baltimore’s manager in December.
Albernaz worked with catchers such as Patrick Bailey, Joey Bart, Chadwick Tromp during his time as a coach with the San Francisco Giants (2020-2023). The Giants put together several videos of Albernaz’ work with the catchers under his tutelage, including this one:
“Looking at those videos when I was in high school and then being able to sit down and chat with him in spring training and ask him questions of what went into that,” Anderson said. “They were wearing masks [in the videos] because of COVID. But it was really cool to see those videos when I was younger and then being able to chat with him in person.”
Anderson dabbled in catching during his first two years at Virginia, setting up in a traditional crouch. By his junior year, he was catching on one knee with his glove starting low to the ground.
“My first year in pro ball was just trying to figure out setups, posture, thought processes, movements is going to put me in the best [position for] success,” Anderson said. “It’s a lot of trial and error of, ‘Let’s try this out this day, let’s try this.’ I went into spring training with right knee down, left knee down setups.”
Anderson connected with Orioles major league catching coach Joe Singley during spring training. Singley suggested setting up with his right knee down.
“That’s something I’m trying out this year. Looking at video between the years, you can see my setup’s a little different,” said Anderson, who has caught 15 games for the Baysox this year. “It allows me to put myself in better positions to use the ground while receiving the ball. I feel better blocking and throwing down to second and down to third.”
For more from Anderson, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credits: Joe Noyes/Chesapeake Baysox and Colin Murphy/PressBox