MLB

Yankees’ Top Pitching Prospect Chase Hampton Undergoes Tommy John Surgery, Ending 2025 Season

Author photo
By
Colin Lynch
Author photo
Colin Lynch Sports Editor

Colin Lynch covers the NFL, MLB and WNBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the New England Patriots. His sports coverage has been featured on The Sports Daily and Basketball Insiders, as well as FanSided's Chowder & Champions. A New Hampshire native and former D1 baseball player at St. John's University, Colin was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2008 and enjoyed a four-year professional baseball career.

Get to know Colin Lynch better
Sports Editor

Published27 Feb 2025

Disclosure
We publish independently audited content meeting strict editorial standards. Ads on our site are served by Google AdSense and are not controlled or influenced by our editorial team.
Yankees’ Top Pitching Prospect Chase Hampton Undergoes Tommy John Surgery, Ending 2025 Season

The New York Yankees’ spring training began with bold ideas and big possibilities. The search for a new second baseman after Gleyber Torres signed with the Detroit Tigers led to speculation about a blockbuster trade—one that would have sent their top two pitching prospects to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for three-time All-Star Carlos Correa.

That trade never materialized. And now, just weeks later, neither will Chase Hampton’s 2025 season.

In a stunning setback, Hampton underwent Tommy John surgery on Friday morning in New York City, wiping out his highly anticipated campaign before it even began.

A Harsh Reality for a Rising Prospect

Hampton, the Yankees’ No. 6 overall prospect and their second-ranked pitching prospect, had been part of the team’s big league spring training camp, hoping to prove he could be a future piece of the Yankees’ rotation.

Then came the discomfort. The imaging. The diagnosis.

Manager Aaron Boone first hinted at trouble on Wednesday, telling reporters that there was “something going on” with Hampton’s ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Two days later, the worst-case scenario was confirmed: a ligament tear requiring immediate surgery.

Instead of battling for a roster spot, the 23-year-old right-hander is now facing a grueling 12-16 month recovery process.

“I think in his mind, just dealing with some of the things he’s had to deal with over the last year-plus, there’s a little bit of, ‘Hey, let’s get fixed and get back on the trail,’” Boone said Saturday. “So hopefully there’s a little comfort in knowing that he has a chance to put this behind him. It’s a long road back, but it doesn’t change what a talented guy he is.”

A Season of Setbacks

This isn’t Hampton’s first injury hurdle. The sixth-round pick out of Texas Tech in 2022 saw his 2024 season derailed by a series of setbacks—including back, groin, and elbow issues—that limited him to just seven starts across three levels of the Yankees’ minor league system.

Still, his potential remained tantalizing. His strikeout numbers were strong, and despite the struggles, he was widely projected as a future mid-rotation starter.

Now, that projection is on hold.

Hampton’s absence leaves the Yankees without one of their most promising young arms—a player they might have leaned on for depth in a season where pitching reinforcements are always critical.

A Glimpse at What Could Have Been

Had things gone differently, Hampton might have been part of the Yankees’ rotation by midseason. MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and Fangraphs all ranked him among the Yankees’ most promising farm talents, with some scouts believing he had No. 3 starter upside.

“There’s a version of Hampton that returns with the velocity he’s had for most of his career—a fastball in the low 90s—and projects as a No. 4-5 starter,” wrote Fangraphs prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen. “And then there’s the apex version we saw for a few months in 2023 who would more cleanly fit in the middle of a rotation.”

That version of Hampton will have to wait until 2026.

Perhaps most intriguing is the trade that almost was.

Had the Yankees finalized the deal for Carlos Correa, Hampton’s injury might have played out in a Minnesota uniform instead of in New York. That trade would have also included top pitching prospect Will Warren, who made his MLB debut last season and remains a key depth piece for the Yankees moving forward.

Instead, Hampton stays with the Yankees—but so does his long road to recovery.

Where Do the Yankees Go From Here?

While Hampton’s injury doesn’t directly impact the Yankees’ Opening Day roster, it does thin out their future options.

With Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, and Nestor Cortes leading the rotation and Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, and Will Warren providing depth, the Yankees still have quality arms. But the need for additional reinforcements could arise sooner than expected.

A healthy Chase Hampton might have been part of that solution. Instead, the Yankees will have to look elsewhere—whether that means leaning on other young arms in the system or exploring the trade market as the season progresses.

For now, Hampton begins the long journey back. His Yankees debut will have to wait.