Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

Anderson was blocked defensively by Kyle Teel until his junior year at the University of Virginia, where he produced a career 1.001 OPS and walked more than he struck out over three seasons. He was a full-time catcher for the first time in 2024, when he earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors before the Orioles made him a second-round pick in the ‘24 Draft. The Orioles announced him as a catcher, and he was behind the plate for more than half his games during his full season debut. But Anderson struggled offensively, with a .677 OPS between High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Chesapeake, before bouncing back a bit in the Arizona Fall League (.300/.398/.443 in 19 games).

Anderson is a switch-hitter who seemed to get to more power from the left side in college, but he didn’t tap into much from either side in his pro debut and doesn’t torch the ball with super-high exit velocities. Instead, his strengths lay in his ability to control at-bats and make solid swing decisions. He doesn’t strike out much and reaches base at a strong clip. His bat is his carrying tool but it’s a hit-tool-driven profile, meaning Anderson could benefit from impacting the ball with more authority.

Plus makeup lifts the overall profile, but Anderson is still something of a tweener -- he’s a fringy defender behind the plate and might not provide enough thump to be an everyday option at first base. He does have a solid enough arm and can be a good receiver at times, leading to a belief he can grow into an average catcher with more defensive reps. His ceiling seems highest behind the plate, where Anderson could grow into a switch-hitting backstop with some positional flexibility.

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 40

Anderson produced a career 1.001 OPS with more walks than strikeouts over three years at the University of Virginia, where he was blocked behind the plate defensively by Kyle Teel until his junior season. He earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors that year before the Orioles took him in the second round of the 2024 Draft, announced him as a catcher and signed him for an under-slot $1.17 million. Anderson then hit well (.288/.361/.438) during a brief debut that ended at High-A Aberdeen. His first full season was less successful, with a .677 OPS over 90 games between Aberdeen and Double-A Chesapeake, but he did hit .300 with an OPS of .840 over 19 Arizona Fall League games.

The switch-hitting Anderson seems to get to more of his power from the left side, while he’s more of a line-drive hitter from the right side. But he brings a strong approach and good on-base skills to both, with a feel for the barrel and an idea for how to control his at-bats. The ball doesn’t fly off of his bat velocity-wise, so if he develops into an above-average hitter, it’ll be on the basis of those bat-to-ball skills and swing decisions. The bat is his carrying tool along with his plus makeup.

Anderson saw time at other positions as an underclassman because of Teel and didn’t catch full-time as a junior, at which point he was considered a fringy defender with an average arm. But his ceiling is highest behind the plate, especially if he doesn’t provide enough thump to profile at first base. The Orioles continue to give him reps at the position to develop into a solid bat-first everyday option there.

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45

The University of Virginia baseball program lost a trio of big bats in the 2023 Draft -- first-rounder Kyle Teel, second-rounder Jake Gelof and sixth-rounder Ethan O’Donnell – but Anderson returned to help anchor the lineup in 2024. He hit well from the moment he set foot on campus, posting a 1.118 OPS with 15 homers in 2023, putting him firmly on the map, though he wasn’t quite as productive in 2024 (.331/.435/.508). He got some chance to raise his profile by spending time trying to replace Teel behind the plate. The Orioles saw enough on both sides of the ball to take him in the second round, announce him as a catcher and sign him for an under-slot $1.17 million.

Anderson is a switch-hitter with a feel for the barrel and plenty of power to tap into. It started to show up more consistently in 2023, but that didn’t continue as frequently in his junior season. It shows up more as a left-handed hitter, with some loft in that swing. He has bat speed and strength right-handed as well, but he’s more of a line-drive hitter from that side.

While he caught in high school, Anderson had seen limited time behind the plate since he headed to Charlottesville. He got a lot of reps this past fall with some encouraging early reports, but the jury is still out about his defensive chops, and he ceded much of the playing time at the position to senior Jacob Ference as the spring wore on, He might be too big to stick there at the next level. He’d mostly played first base prior to this spring, and that might end being his best option. Anderson's bat is his carrying tool along with his plus makeup.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45

The University of Virginia baseball program lost a trio of big bats in the 2023 Draft -- first-rounder Kyle Teel, second-round pick Jake Gelof and sixth-rounder Ethan O’Donnell – but Anderson returns to help anchor the lineup in 2024. He’s hit well since he set foot on campus, including posting a 1.118 OPS with 15 homers in 2023, putting him firmly on thes map. He’s gotten the chance to raise his profile even more this spring by spending a lot of time trying to replace Teel behind the plate.

Anderson is a switch-hitter with a feel for the barrel and plenty of power to tap into. It started to show up more consistently in 2023, but that didn’t continue as frequently in his junior season. It shows up more as a left-handed hitter, with some loft in that swing. He has bat speed and strength right-handed as well, but he’s more of a line-drive hitter from that side.

While he caught in high school, Anderson had seen limited time behind the plate since he headed to Charlottesville. He got a lot of reps this past fall with some encouraging early reports, but the jury is still out about his defensive chops, with some thinking he might be too big to stick there at the next level. He’d mostly played first base prior to this spring and that might end being his best option. Anderson's bat is his carrying tool along with his plus makeup, and if he convinces scouts he can catch, he could shoot up boards.

Awards

AFL Rising Stars

Year	Team
2025

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	02/04/2026	Baltimore Orioles invited non-roster C Ethan Anderson to spring training.
	11/08/2025	American League Fall Stars activated C Ethan Anderson.
	09/10/2025	C Ethan Anderson assigned to Peoria Javelinas.
	08/19/2025	C Ethan Anderson assigned to Chesapeake Baysox from Aberdeen IronBirds.
	06/21/2025	Aberdeen IronBirds activated C Ethan Anderson from the 7-day injured list.
	06/10/2025	Aberdeen IronBirds placed C Ethan Anderson on the 7-day injured list.
	03/06/2025	activated C Ethan Anderson.
	02/28/2025	C Ethan Anderson assigned to Baltimore Orioles.
	09/03/2024	C Ethan Anderson assigned to Aberdeen IronBirds from Delmarva Shorebirds.
	08/13/2024	C Ethan Anderson assigned to Delmarva Shorebirds from FCL Orioles.
	08/05/2024	C Ethan Anderson assigned to FCL Orioles.
	07/19/2024	Baltimore Orioles signed C Ethan Anderson.
	06/16/2024	College Workout activated C Ethan Anderson.
	03/20/2024	C Ethan Anderson assigned to Virginia Cavaliers.
	06/09/2023	Harwich Mariners activated C Ethan Anderson.
	05/24/2023	College Workout activated C Ethan Anderson.
	05/20/2023	C Ethan Anderson assigned to Virginia Cavaliers.
	05/04/2022	C Ethan Anderson and assigned to Virginia Cavaliers.