New York Yankees Top Pitching Prospect 'Ready to Rock' Ahead of Spring Training

One of the greatest strengths for the New York Yankees heading into the 2025 season is going to be their pitching staff.

They made two major additions this winter on the mound, signing starting pitcher Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract and acquiring All-Star closer Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Manager Aaron Boone is going to have a lot of firepower to work with, as they have one of the deepest starting rotations in baseball with Fried joining Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman and reigning Rookie of the Year winner Luis Gil.

The Yankees are hoping for good health from the starting rotation this upcoming season, but if they happen to need reinforcements, they have plenty of depth in their minor league system.

One player to keep an eye on is Chase Hampton.

A forgotten prospect after battling injuries in 2024, he is prepared to make a statement this year now that he is healthy.

“I’m getting to spring training ready to rock,” Hampton said in a phone interview Wednesday, via Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.

Making his first appearance at the big league camp in 2024, he didn’t end up pitching in a real game until July. First, he was battling a flexor tendon sprain and then was dealing with groin ailments that kept him sidelined until Aug. 10.

“It was definitely rough for a second,” Hampton said. “I’ve never been in those shoes. I’ve always been able to either work through an injury or never really had an injury that took me off the field.”

The 23-year-old is certainly hoping to have put those injuries behind him and regain the form he showed previously in his career.

A sixth-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft out of Texas Tech, Hampton was given an award as New York’s best minor league pitcher in 2023 when he made 20 starts between High-A Hudson and Double-A Somerset and produced a 3.63 ERA with 145 strikeouts in 106.2 innings pitched.

It was quite a debut campaign, and it led to him being featured on all of the top prospect lists ahead of the 2024 season.

While he has lost some of that shine because of a down year, he remains confident in his skill set and that he can succeed at the highest level.

“One word: Dominate,” he said when asked about what he does best on the mound. “I think that describes my game when I’m good and I’m on. I feel like I just dominate a lot of the pitching side of it in general, the (strike) zone. Just dominate the zone.”

While Hampton is currently deep down the Yankees’ depth chart, he will have a chance to move up the pecking order this spring.

He has yet to pitch in Triple-A, but that should be his next step in 2025.

Dominating, as he believes he is capable of doing, at that level could put him in line for a big league promotion shortly after that.

Will Warren, Allan Williams and JT Brubaker are likely his biggest competition to get the call.

Recommended Articles