Right-handed reliever Ian Hamilton was designated for assignment by the White Sox on September 18. On Friday, he was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.
Hamilton was an 11th round draft pick of the White Sox in 2016 out of Washington State. He climbed as high as the No. 17 overall prospect in the organization, according to our 2019 preseason top 30 list.
The hard-throwing righty accumulated an impressive minor league career as a member of the organization. He totaled 185 strikeouts over 172.1 innings with a 1.143 WHIP while showing a gradual improvement in overall velocity and action on his slider. Hamilton’s MiLB career peaked in 2018 after he dominated the Southern League and later mimicked that production in the International League. He finished that minor league season with a 1.74 ERA across 51.2 combined relief innings between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte.
Injuries seriously impacted Hamilton’s Major League trajectory dating back to February of 2019. He and his fiancé got into a car accident, which thankfully left them unscathed. However, Hamilton dealt with a lingering shoulder issue in part due to the incident. A few months later, a freak occurrence ended his season.
While in the dugout, Hamilton was struck in the face by a line drive. He required multiple surgeries to repair his jaw. He pitched only 16.1 innings that year in Charlotte.
Working to establish himself as a big league regular in 2020, Hamilton made four appearances out of the Sox pen before landing on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder soreness on August 15. He had previously made his MLB debut in 2018 as a September call-up.
Hamilton’s fastball sat in the upper 90s in 2018, but he struggled to find that plateau with consistency over the past two seasons. According to Brooks Baseball, the 25-year-old averaged a 94 mph fastball, 85 mph slider and 85 mph changeup between his two stints in the majors.
Hamilton departs Chicago with a career 4.50 ERA across 14 appearances and 12 innings pitched in the big leagues.
Photo credit: Sean Williams/FutureSox
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