Ian Hamilton’s Road To Yankees: A Great Pick For The Team

Ian Hamilton’s Road To Yankees

The Chicago White Sox selected Ian Hamilton in the eleventh round of the 2016 draft. Before making his Red Sox debut in 2018, he spent just two years in the minors. Hamilton, though, started the 2019 season on the disabled list after suffering mild shoulder irritation in a collision. When he got back, Chicago optioned him back to Triple-A Charlotte, and Hamilton’s situation only got worse.

The White Sox would designate Ian Hamilton for assignment around the end of the 2020 campaign. In his brief time with Chicago, he played in 14 games and posted an ERA of 4.50.

He got claimed by the Minnesota Twins after being placed on waivers a second time that summer. After the Twins signed reliever Alex Colome that offseason, Hamilton would be put on waiver for a third time.

This time, no one would make a claim for Hamilton, and he would be playing for the Twins Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul.

Hamilton would be transferred to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Sandy Leon after spending the majority of the 2022 season at Triple-A. Hamilton would play with the Columbus Guardians Triple-A squad for the balance of the 2022 campaign. He decided to become a free agent after the season without ever pitching for Cleveland.

Hamilton would agree to a minor league deal with the New York Yankees during the 2023 summer. He decided to advance the opt-out date in his contract to April 5th despite not making the squad out of camp. Immediately following the first season-opening series, on April 3, the Yankees promoted him to their major league organization. Hamilton has not looked back since being called up.

A Great Pick For The Yankees

The Yankees’ game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night at Tropicana Field was Hamilton’s largest for the team to date. Hamilton, who was starting the game for the second time in a row, tossed a spotless ninth inning to earn his first career save. He guided the Yankees to a 3-2 victory and assisted them in maintaining their one-run advantage.

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On Monday, with the tying run at the plate, Yankees manager Aaron Boone made a play that exemplified why his injured club is just hanging on: Ian Hamilton, the reliever, and all the administrative effort put into locating and assisting him into the fray.

The Oakland A’s had runners on first and second with no outs and the Yankees were up 5-2.

Before this year, Hamilton had never thrown a two-seam fastball in the major leagues. It accomplished what it was intended to achieve, which was to cause a fielder’s choice groundout.

A 97 mph fastball that was called strike three looking resulted in Hamilton’s second out. Following that, he ended the inning by getting a swinging strikeout on his signature slider/change-up.

All of this comes from a player who is 27 years old and is now playing for his sixth organization.

In a year that also has outfielders Jake Bauers and Willie Calhoun, Hamilton may be the most exciting discovery. He is also proof of a pitching staff that players claim has been more disciplined this year.

The Yankees’ scouts and analysts saw elements in Hamilton’s pitches, like as spin, that made him underrated.

 

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