Meet Ethan Walker; New Red Sox prospect with 'Liam Hendriks-esque' mound prescence

The last nine months have been an unusual experience for most of the pitchers in Boston's 2025 draft class. Many have never had such a long stretch without appearing in a real game. The lack of game action gives the players a lot of downtime to work on their own stuff while at the complex in Fort Myers. During the time off, it might be safe to say some might be developing that "itch" to go out and compete again. Red Sox 12th-round pick Ethan Walker fits that description.

"Everything has been going really good," Walker said of his time off. "It has been a super easy transition to pro ball getting to know all the staff in the Red Sox facility during this time. I am missing the games quite a lot. I like competing. I like being out there by myself on the mound. There are no worries. It’s just you and the batter. I was itching to start throwing lives. I couldn’t wait for all the stuff to start in Spring Training. I have had the itch since I got drafted. I was ready to get going right away."

Walker was drafted by Boston out of Kentucky after a productive junior year in Lexington. That year came after his first two seasons pitching at Longwood, which was a bit of a different experience than the SEC.

"It is a different level," Walker said. "When I first got to college, I started out at a mid-major school in the Big South, which is not a good conference. It has pretty average baseball players, nowhere close to the SEC. We played SEC schools and got ran over. When I had an off day and your stuff could still compete with the mid-major schools. In the SEC, if you have one pitch that isn’t working, you will get hit. Guys will start sitting on your other pitches and it’s over. I feel like that is pretty much pro ball and I think that conference sets you up well for the transition."

During his lone season at Kentucky, Walker struck out 49 batters over 46 innings of work in 2025. The 21-year-old also cut his walk rate in half from his sophomore season and only issued 16 free passes during the season. Walker started in nine of his 16 appearances, in line with his usage at Longwood.

"Starting was definitely an experience at the beginning in college," Walker noted. "I was a little nerved up after Belmont last season. I got hit around throwing my stuff in the zone. I started questioning my ability and if my stuff was even good enough. I had some meetings with Coach Rozelle, the pitching coach at Kentucky, and we just talked about how my stuff is better than I showed. I just needed to know where to throw it. Once I learned that, it was smooth sailing from there. I became a starter in midweek games the rest of the year. I felt like I threw pretty decent in that role until conference play started when the midweek games stop and I became a reliever. My confidence was fully built up by then and everything went well. I liked having both experiences. I liked starting and relieving. It gave me an idea of what the pros could possibly be like."

Versatile is the perfect word to describe Walker, as he started 27 games over his college career and came out of the bullpen in 19 others. He shifted between starting, a bulk relief role, and even short relief as he closed out a game and earned a save last year for Kentucky.

When Walker has been throwing on the backfields this spring, fans will know where he is. What has been described as "A little Liam Hendriks-esque" in the way he lets you know right after releasing a pitch if he liked it or not, he chalks it up to just being a little competitive.

"I have represented Ethan since high school and I was always fond of how he competes on the mound," Empowerment Sports Group MLBPA Certified Player Agent Joseph Guzman said. "He is a different person when he gets on the mound. He wants to help his team win at all costs. Ethan never settles, he may have setbacks or obstacles, but he seems to come back even stronger when he faces adversity. He is the nicest kid off the field, but you don't want to step in the box when he's on the mound. It's almost like he's going to war."

With all of this talk about how intense he is on the mound, how would Ethan describe himself?

"I would say I am unique and competitive," Walker said. "I feel like a lot of people say they struggle with seeing my pitches just because of how long I hide the baseball. Unique is the word I have heard a lot over the years. A lot of people say they haven’t seen my arm action and stuff like that before. I would also say I am a big competitor. I like competing more than anything. I don’t like pitching around the zone. I like throwing it and seeing if they can hit it. During my first years of college, I struggled with that. But, as I got to my junior year and realized how good my stuff was, it became a lot easier just throwing stuff in the zone."