Red Sox Draft Pick Anthony Eyanson Is Built For Boston
When LSU starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson ended the third inning of game two of the College World Series with a strikeout, he appeared to stride towards the dugout before the ball reached the plate. When he ended the 6th inning in the same manner, he stared down the dugout as if to say, “Are you not entertained?”
The Boston Red Sox selected Eyanson in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft. While he’s only ever driven past Fenway Park and is yet to step foot on the field, his performance, no matter the stage, shows he has the mentality to pitch in Boston. His makeup is part of what made him an attractive target for the Red Sox.
When asked if he enjoys pitching in front of a huge crowd in a big moment, he laughed.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Eyanson said. “It just makes it feel so important. It’s so fun”.
LSU head coach Jay Johnson raved about Eyanson, noting that he’s an incredible competitor with unique abilities.
“That dude is the best at a few things,” Johnson said after a game in May. “He is the best at getting better as the game goes on, and he is the best pitcher in the country at wiggling his way out of trouble. The odds of getting out of a runner on third with no outs situation without a run scoring are very low. It takes a competitor, a special dude like that, to do it. He’s the man.”
The righty is young. He was born about one week before the 2004 American League Championship Series began, but he’s advanced for his age. He has two breaking balls, a slider and a curveball, that scouts are high on. He’s comfortable throwing them in any count and can do so for strikes. He was third in the country in strikeouts last season while walking just eight percent of opponents.
He’s also very in tune with his arsenal. He showed the difference in length between his index and middle finger, noting how it makes it difficult for him to backspin his fastball as other pitchers do, and talked about how he’s worked hard to find the fix.
“My fingers are really different, so it’s hard for me to backspin a baseball without it trying to run,” Eyanson said. “That was something that me and [LSU Pitching Coach Nate] Yeskie and [LSU Director of Player Development] Jamie Tutko worked a lot on at LSU, is trying to ball feel like I’m throwing it [with backspin], not [with sidespin], so it rides and gets some cut.”
Eyanson is currently in Fort Myers, but plans to be in Boston from Thursday to Saturday to experience Fenway and sign his rookie contract.