Ian Hamilton is expected to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday, and the Yankees would be getting a massive boost with the right-hander in their bullpen. While his ERA and strikeout rate both regressed from last season, the overall whiff numbers and stuff looked excellent before he hit the IL with a right lat strain which has sidelined him since June. With the struggles the Yankees have had getting outs in high-leverage situations, they could use all the help they can get, but Hamilton stands out as a big-time addition potentially if he’s able to pitch to his 2023 form.
A breakout stud in an otherwise disappointing season last year, Ian Hamilton could be exactly what the Yankees need in their bullpen right now.
Yankees Could Get Huge Boost in Bullpen With Ian Hamilton
Ian Hamilton struggled to find his footing this season, posting a 4.55 ERA across 27 appearances. His strikeout rate dropped from 28.9% to 22.1%, but the overall swing-and-miss rates didn’t decline in the slightest. Some would point to his command as a point of regression, which is usually why excellent pitches don’t get whiffs, and the dip in groundball rate could be an indication that he was leaving too many fastballs and sliders over the heart of the plate.
Despite those struggles, his 119 Stuff+ and 99th Percentile Chase Rate are indicators of an arsenal that’s absolutely wicked, and if he can pitch the way he did in 2023 he might just become this team’s most important reliever. He posted a 2.64 ERA and struck out 69 batters across 39 appearances, showing off an ability to go multiple innings and also missing bats at an extremely high rate.
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There was some concern that his body wasn’t responding well to the workload of being a two-inning reliever, as there was a void left behind by the departure of Michael King in the trade that netted the Yankees Juan Soto. With Luke Weaver serving the role of their multi-inning bullpen arm, Hamilton can settle back into a role where he’s throwing as often as he did last season, and that could do him wonders down the stretch.
He’ll head to Somerset with the Double-A Patriots to get himself back online, joining both Lou Trivino and Cody Poteet who were assigned there for the exact same reason. We could see this bullpen get a massive facelift in the upcoming weeks, and given the state of the AL East battle they’ll need all hands on deck to win the division. They begin this homestand with a three-game set against the first-place Cleveland Guardians, with Luis Gil squaring off against Matt Boyd at 7:05 PM EST.