Yankees Cut Ties With Top-30 Ranked Pitching Prospect Amid Rough 2026 Season

The New York Yankees were not in action on Labor Day as they had a scheduled day off before kicking off their three-game series at home against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. But that did not stop the club from making a couple of transactions at the big-league and minor-league levels.

While Yankees fans are excited about the return of superstar slugger Aaron Judge, who the team officially activated off the 60-day injured list on Monday night. New York also announced that it designated right-handed pitcher Chase Hampton for assignment, who was having a tough 2026 season in the minors.

Today, the Yankees made the following roster moves:
•Reinstated OF Aaron Judge (#99) from the 60-day injured list.
•Designated RHP Chase Hampton for assignment.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) September 8, 2026

The news of the Yankees parting ways with Hampton was shocking, to say the least, as not too long ago, the 25-year-old pitcher was viewed as New York’s best pitching prospect. However, the injury bug has derailed his professional career, including Tommy John surgery in February 2025, which kept him out for the season before he returned to the mound in 2026.

But things didn’t go smoothly for Hampton, who was ranked as the 22nd-best prospect in the Yankees’ farm system, per MLB Pipeline, and struggled to find his groove on the mound this season.

Chase Hampton’s Yankees tenure ends on a somber note after 17 starts in 2026

The former sixth-round pick in the 2022 draft made his long-awaited return to the mound in May, starting in three games at Single-A Tampa.

In his first live game action since 2024, the right-handed hurler got through those starts without much damage, allowing six hits, six runs (four earned), two walks, and two home runs, while striking out eight batters in 8.2 innings. Hampton’s ERA was 4.15, but he held opponents to a .188 average and .182 BABIP.

From there, the Yankees moved him up to High-A Hudson Valley, where he threw 10.2 innings across three starts. But the numbers weren’t great, as Hampton had a 6.75 ERA. He gave up 10 hits, 10 runs (eight earned), four walks, a home run, and struck out 11 batters.

Opponents were also hitting .256 off Hampton with a .776 OPS and .310 BABIP, which was a notable increase from what he did at Single-A.

Despite not posting the best numbers on the mound, the Yankees moved Hampton to Double-A Somerset on June 12. He has spent the majority of this season with the Patriots.

The hope was that Hampton would look like the pitcher we saw a couple of years ago, who was a top-100 prospect, as he made his way to Double-A. But that didn’t come to fruition for him, as he struggled mightily on the mound.

Out of his 11 starts with the Patriots, Hampton had seven outings with at least three earned runs allowed or more and surrendered eight home runs in his last four starts, which isn’t good. It was reflected in his ERA, which skyrocketed to 9.59.

Hampton wasn’t missing many bats in Double-A as opponents slugged .320 at the plate, with an OPS of 1.091 and a .365 BABIP. In August alone, Hampton recorded a 16.43 ERA, with batters teeing off on him at a .378 clip.

According to FanGraphs, the advanced numbers back up the falloff we’ve seen from the formerly heralded pitching prospect. This season, Hampton has a 21.3 strikeout rate, a 12.9% walk rate, and an 11.4% swinging strike percentage.

That is a drastic change from 2023, when Hampton was making a ton of noise in the Yankees’ system and looked like one of the next promising arms. During that season, he had a 33.1% strikeout rate, an 8.4% walk rate, and a 15.3% swinging strike percentage.

With all that being said, Hampton’s baseball career is officially up in the air. Based on what he’s shown this season, it's clear that the Yankees are ready to move on.

However, it’s not 100% over for him. Given that he’ll be two years removed from Tommy John surgery next offseason, maybe a fresh start in a new organization could get him back on track and have him looking like a top-100 prospect. In the meantime, we will see if the Yankees make any corresponding moves at Double-A to take Hampton’s spot.

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