Former top-ten Yankees prospect, right-handed pitcher Chase Hampton, was designated for assignment by the Washington Nationals , according to a team announcement. The move coincides with the team reinstating left-handed pitcher Connelly Early , whom they acquired from the Boston Red Sox in July for right-handed infielder Curtis Mead . Hampton, however, was a former Yankees farmhand that the Nationals claimed off waivers from the Yankees earlier this past month.
The Yankees had DFA'd Hampton on September 7th of 2026. Hampton has dealt with injuries and underperformance in his professional career so far. The Yankees selected Hampton in the 6th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and Hampton was a top 100 prospect in baseball (92nd overall) back in 2024. However, injuries started to take a toll on the young right-hander when he was first sidelined with a right flexor sprain back in Spring Training in February 2025. Hampton then underwent Tommy John Surgery on February 21st, 2025.
Heading into that 2025 campaign, Hampton was regarded as the Yankees' fifth-best pitching prospect. He was their best pitching prospect in 2024. The regression was followed by performance struggles in 2026, in which Hampton pitched to an 8.18 ERA in 17 appearances across 55 innings from Low A, High A, and Double A for the Yankees minor league affiliates. This led the Yankees to part ways with Hampton in early September to reinstate Aaron Judge from the injured list. This resulted in the Nationals picking up Hampton off waivers on September 12th, and Hampton was only with the Nationals organization for two weeks before being DFA'd and placed back on waivers yet again.
Hampton is still relatively young, just 25, but hasn't been the same since returning from these injuries in 2026. Despite being with the Nationals for just two weeks, Hampton did not pitch in any minor league games with the organization. Before the injuries and setback in 2025, Hampton had been doing well in the minor leagues. He posted a 3.63 ERA between the Yankees High A and Double A affiliates in 2023 with 145 strikeouts in 106.2 innings pitched. In 2024, he pitched in just seven games and posted a 2.41 ERA in just 18 innings. Hampton had arm and hamstring injuries that limited his usage in 2024, per Baseball America.
Hampton's rise and then backslide in the prospect rankings system is unfortunately a very common theme in professional baseball. He will now look to pick up where he left off in a different MLB organization as he tries to one day navigate his way to the big leagues as a formerly highly regarded pitching prospect in the Yankees system and across professional baseball rankings. For Hampton, he'll look to find his previous success post-injury, which is no easy feat for any pitcher, especially coming back from an elbow procedure like Tommy John.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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