Yankees top pitching prospect immediately returns to IL in yet another injury blow

On Aug. 9, after scratching and clawing all season long to return to action, Yankees top pitching prospect Chase Hampton rededicated himself to his offseason goals in an interview with Mike Ashmore:

“It was frustrating for sure,” Hampton said Wednesday. “I wanted to pitch and wanted to get some innings under my belt and make my way up to Triple-A and hopefully make the big leagues. … It took some time to get healthy, get back into shape and everything, and there were some mechanical issues here and there, but now we’re kind of getting back into the swing of things.”

As if that big-league goal hadn't already been shot solidly past the horizon line by Hampton's March injury issues -- a flexor strain that was falsely reported at the end of spring training as a shoulder issue -- such a promotion is now officially out the window.

Hampton, sadly, managed to record just 18 2/3 innings of any kind this season after fighting back from the initial elbow disruption, as well as just 5 2/3 frames at the Double-A level, which matched his 2023 high water mark post-rehab. After two innings in his second start of the season with Somerset, Hampton was pulled, then placed on the IL Tuesday morning.

Purportedly, it's a "lower-body issue" this time, but even if it's not a severe injury, the ticking clock of the minor-league season contains only one more month. It's impossible to view 2024 as anything but a lost year for Hampton, whose big-league dreams really are just a few steps away, especially given the Yankees' rotation struggles.

Yankees top pitching prospect Chase Hampton hits IL again in another injury blow

If Nestor Cortes Jr. gets dealt away this offseason, as most suspect he will, that opens up a rotation spot in the Bronx -- and, besides, the Yankees always need insurance. Hampton and Will Warren likely would've been tied for first in line, especially if the Yankees had managed to get more data on the high-upside right-hander out of Texas Tech this season.

Instead, Mini Cole will have to wait to embark on his journey in earnest until next spring.

Look on the bright side, though. At least we're receiving Hampton updates. Fellow top pitching prospect, left-hander Brock Selvidge, simply hasn't appeared since July 6, lingering in silence since the day he allowed five earned runs in five frames to the Reading Fightin' Phils.