Yankees’ Chase Hampton Will Round Out Arsenal Upper Levels
Chase Hampton is ready to take the next step.
The 22-year-old righthander made a meteoric rise last season after the Yankees drafted him in the sixth round in 2022 out of Texas Tech.
Hampton recorded a 3.63 ERA in 20 starts between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset, striking out 145 in 106.2 innings. He thrived in the first half but allowed 26 earned runs over his final 48 innings at Double-A before ultimately being shut down prior to the Eastern League playoffs.
“It was definitely just him getting used to his first full year in pro ball,” Yankees director of pitching Sam Briend said, explaining that Hampton nearly doubled his innings total from 56.2 as a college junior in 2022.
“But (Double-A) was a good jump for him. He was so dominant in Hudson Valley, and the hitters aren’t as good (there) as Double-A, obviously. So he didn’t really have to have an approach and didn’t have to move the ball around the zone as much.
“He could just go after guys and out-stuff them.”
In Somerset, Hampton got away from a fastball that Briend described as “one of the best—if not the best” in the Yankees’ system more than they would have liked. Instead he relied more on his cutter, while still developing a slider, curveball and changeup at the upper levels.
That process will continue back at Double-A or possibly Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to open 2024. The organization remains confident that Hampton can contribute in MLB sooner rather than later.
“I think he’s a top-of-the-rotation starter when he’s at his best,” Briend said. “That’s the guy we all kind of envision him being.”
