Yankees First-Round Pick Earns Promotion

The Yankees selected Hess in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft with the No. 26 overall pick. Throughout his collegiate career at Alabama, which began in 2022, the 22-year-old recorded a 4.81 ERA with 205 strikeouts in 33 appearances (30 starts) and 138 1/3 innings.

Hess signed for a below-slot bonus of $2,747,500 and did not pitch in a game for any of New York's minor league affiliates last season. Instead, the Yankees assigned Hess to High-A at the end of spring training in March.

Over 15 starts and 66 2/3 frames for the Renegades, Hess posted a 3.51 ERA and 1.140 WHIP. His 12.69 strikeouts per nine innings is the second-highest mark among South Atlantic League pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings this year, while his 2.62 FIP is tied with fellow Yankee prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz for the fourth-best total under that same criteria.

MLB Pipeline currently ranks Hess as the No. 7 overall farmhand and the No. 5 pitcher in New York's system. The publication is high on his fastball, which can reach 99 mph, and they also believe his curveball is a premier off-speed weapon.

"Hess can overpower hitters with a four-seam fastball that parks at 92-96 mph and peaks at 99 with armside run, and the flat approach angle and extension in his delivery make it more difficult to barrel," they wrote. "While his curveball sits in the mid-70s, it gives him a second plus pitch with its ability to fool hitters thanks to its depth and sweep coming out of a low arm slot. His mid-80s slider can feature two-plane depth at times but lost some sharpness last year, and he no longer trusts a fading mid-80s changeup that once looked like a potential solid offering."

Five of the Yankees' top 10 prospects on Pipeline's list are now on Somerset's active roster: George Lombard Jr. (No. 1), Carlos Lagrange (No. 2), Rodriguez-Cruz (No. 6), Hess and Brock Selvidge (No. 10).

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