Welcome to the third and final article covering my midseason re-ranking of Yankees prospects. Our first two pieces respectively covered the prospects who I ranked 11-15 and 6-10 in the organization, and this last part will cover the top five and some concluding thoughts. This is where the real fun begins because some of the players have seen their prospect status skyrocket a little more than halfway through the 2024 campaign.
Others, meanwhile, might be scuffling or injured but still have immense upside. With that out of the way, let’s close out this series! Fastball: 60 | Slider: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Command: 50 | OFP: 60 A low-key sixth-round selection out of Texas Tech in the 2022 draft, Hampton entered pro ball with a deep but unrefined arsenal (as is the case for most Texas Tech pitchers). Instead of entering affiliated ball upon being drafted, Hampton was sent to the Yankees ’ pitching lab, where New York helped him adjust the grips of his pitches to produce more bite — and consequently, more swing-and-miss.
The results in 2023 were nothing short of marvelous, as the 22-year-old delivered a 2.68 ERA in High-A Hudson Valley across 9 starts and 47 innings. Hampton was then promoted to Somerset, where the numbers were uneven but still encouraging.
By regular season’s end, Hampton seemed to be getting into a rhythm with the Patriots. I was very excited, placing him third in my offseason ranking for Baseball Prospectus . Once spring traini.