With the calendar flipping to May, the first month of Anthony Eyanson’s first full professional season is in the books. It ended without the talented Red Sox pitching prospect issuing a single walk.
Though he did hit a batter, Eyanson was otherwise in control for High-A Greenville. In four April starts, the 21-year-old right-hander posted a 0.54 ERA with 27 strikeouts to zero walks over 16 2/3 innings. Opposing hitters in the South Atlantic League batted just .109 against him.
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For Eyanson, each of those strikeouts carries extra meaning. As he explained to Baseball America’s Ian Cundall last month, Eyanson is donating money to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) for each strikeout he records this season. The motivation to do so stems from his own experience.
At the age of 10 in 2015, Eyanson was diagnosed with achalasia, a rare disorder that affects the esophagus and makes it hard to swallow. He underwent four procedures that summer and has been symptom-free since.
“I feel very normal now,” Eyanson told Cundall. “I have no problems eating pretty much all foods, which is a very big blessing.”
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Eyanson, who is scheduled to make his fifth start for Greenville against Hub City on Friday night, enters the weekend as one of 52 pitchers who have thrown at least 15 innings in the South Atlantic League this season. Among those 52, he leads in FIP (1.30), strikeouts per nine innings (14.58), strikeout rate (48.2%), swinging-strike rate (23.7%), walks per nine innings (0.00), walk rate (0.0%), WHIP (0.36), and xFIP (0.93). He also ranks second in batting average against, ERA, and groundball rate (63%), per FanGraphs.
Selected by the Red Sox with the 87th overall pick in last summer’s draft, Eyanson signed for an over-slot $1.75 million bonus. The Louisiana State product stood out in his first spring training in Fort Myers, displaying significant velocity gains and earning All-Spring Breakout Second Team honors. Alongside fellow top 2025 draftees (and SEC alums) Kyson Witherspoon and Marcus Phillips, Eyanson received a season-opening assignment to Greenville.
Since making his pro debut four weeks ago, Eyanson has featured a 94-96 mph fastball that has reached 99 mph. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound righty complements his heater with an 86-88 mph slider that may very well be his best pitch, a cut-splitter, and a 79-80 mph curveball. Baseball America recently identified him as one of 10 standout pitching prospects from April.
Eyanson, who does not turn 22 until October, was ranked by Baseball America as Boston’s No. 13 prospect coming into 2026. Not only does the California native appear poised to climb that list, but he has also emerged as a prime candidate to crack the outlet’s top 100 “sooner or later.” He could further strengthen his case with a promotion to Double-A Portland, though such a move may still be weeks away given how the Red Sox have managed his workload thus far.
(Picture of Anthony Eyanson: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)
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