YANKEES MAY BE BANKING BIG ON KILGORE’S HAMPTON | Right-hander could play major role in Yankees’ future / by RYAN GARCIA
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was published by empiresportsmedia.com, written by Ryan Garcia, back on Jan. 16. It’s about Kilgore native and former Kilgore High and Texas Tech University standout Chase Hampton, a pitcher in the New York Yankees organization about to hit spring training with the Yankees. We thought many ETBlitz.com readers might have missed it, and maybe you might enjoy it. For more on the Yankees, check out EmpireSportsMedia, and simply mlb.com/Yankees.
By RYAN GARCIA
Chase Hampton was once the best prospect in the Yankees‘ organization, as entering last season he flashed an excellent fastball that he paired with strong secondary weapons including a new sweeper and cutter. Invited to big-league camp, there were some talks about the right-hander making his big-league debut in just his second pro season. Injuries would rob the Texas Tech product from making those lofty dreams a reality, and he would ultimately spend his entire season in Double-A trying to stay healthy, which proved to be a massive challenge for him.
Spring Training could present an opportunity to flip the script; the Yankees have lost a good chunk of their upper-level MiLB pitching depth, and an impressive camp could put Hampton back on the map. A strikeout artist who oozes upside, the Yankees haven’t forgotten that they have someone capable of being a top-100 prospect returning with a fresh arm.
In 2023, Chase Hampton was one of the best pitchers in Minor League Baseball, posting the third-best K-BB% among pitchers who had at least 100 IP that season. His arsenal starts with his excellent fastball, which sits between 93-94 MPH with 18-19 inches of Induced Vertical Break, allowing him to attack up in the zone with it for swings and misses. It’s always been one of his more reliable weapons, but the Yankees have improved its shape and Hampton’s strike-throwing abilities to make that pitch borderline unhittable when located well.
His curveball was a big looping weapon for him in his time at Texas Tech, and it remains a pillar in his arsenal as he uses it to get lefties to fish out of zone for chases and whiffs. Hampton spins the ball incredibly well, and his curveball is one of those weapons that he can generate wicked amounts of spin with to finish an at-bat and get an out. While his curveball is his longest-tenured breaking ball, it arguably isn’t his best one, as the Yankees taught him a sweeper that has marvelous two-plane movement.
It’s a pitch that can average between 13-14 inches of horizontal movement, and it’s a vicious weapon against right-handed batters due to his long arms and wide release point. Mix in a cutter that he can throw up in the zone for whiffs and soft contact against righties and lefties, and you have a four-pitch mix that consists of four plus pitches that he can command pretty well. Pitch diversity is coming back in vogue, and to have four distinct pitches, Hampton has both the raw stuff and a fleshed-out arsenal that could make him a viable MLB starter as soon as he’s healthy.
The Yankees haven’t made their adoration of Hampton a secret either, as after the 2023 season, team pitching coordinator Sam Briend made a pretty eye-popping comparison.
“He’s got everything, and some of the players joke and they call him a little mini Gerrit because he has some similarities but he’s obviously not Gerrit Cole at the same time” – via Brendan Kuty of The Athletic
Is Chase Hampton going to win a Cy Young Award and put himself in a position to make the Hall of Fame? Probably not, but just like Gerrit Cole, he has an excellent riding fastball and an arsenal designed to punch batters out. If the Yankees can continue to develop the young right-hander, they could be looking at a middle-of-the-rotation starter with six years of cheap control.
Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodon are all under contract for at least the next four seasons, but injuries and underperformance will always keep the door open for a role on the big-league staff. Even if Chase Hampton breaks through as a reliever at first, the Yankees have displayed time and time again that they will be patient with their young pitchers and give them time to find their footing. Clarke Schmidt was a first-round pick who hadn’t pitched five innings into an outing until his age-27 season, and Luis Gil didn’t establish himself until he was 25 years old.
Michael King was a late bloomer as well, and while part of that has to do with the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the 2020 MiLB season, it also has to do with the existing talent on the roster. The Yankees have been in a contention window since 2017, and rotation spots aren’t just up for grabs in Spring Training. A rotation battle didn’t open up in 2023 or 2024 until people started getting hurt, and who knows, maybe something opens up for Chase Hampton as soon as 2025, where he could go from little-known sixth-rounder to a draft success for the Bronx Bombers.