Ian Hamilton

Position: RH RP
Born: 6/16/1995
Ht: 6’0″ Wt: 200 lb
Acquired: Drafted 11th round in the 2016 draft out of Washington State
Career Stats

FutureSox Prospect Rankings

  • #28 – 2016 Midseason
  • #26 – 2018 Preseason
  • #19 – 2018 Midseason
  • #17 – 2019 Preseason
  • #26 – 2019 Midseason
  • #21 – 2020 Preseason

FutureSox Media

Accolades

  • Southern League All-Star, 2018 Midseason

Scouting Report

Hamilton was the team’s only signing outside the first 10 rounds of the 2016 draft who took a pool-hitting bonus ($101,800). He was a reliever his first two years in college, then in the rotation in his third and final year at Washington State. He excelled in the Cape Cod League the summer before changing his role.

After signing, he made a brief single-outing tune-up appearance in the AZL before being promoted to Class-A Kannapolis. He pitched 31.2 innings of short outings (some starts, but abbreviated ones), keeping the hits away (6.3 H/9), striking out 7.7 per nine and walking 4 per nine. Hamilton opened 2017 with High-A Winston-Salem and cruised, but struggled upon promotion to Double-A Birmingham getting hit a lot harder. He had no issues back with the Dash to finish 2017.

Ian had a big 2018. A 1.26 WHIP, 4.3 BB/9, 12.1 K/9 line with Birmingham in 25.1 innings that led to a promotion to Triple-A Charlotte. There he was again very strong (0.84 WHIP, 1.4 BB/9, 9.6 K/9) in 26.1 IP. Capping off his big run, Hamilton was promoted to Chicago for a brief 8-inning MLB debut.

Multiple non-baseball injuries derailed his 2019. He got into a car accident in spring training which injured his shoulder and delayed his ramp up for the year. He struggled when he got back to Charlotte and then got hit in the face by a foul ball line drive while watching from the dugout. Multiple surgeries later Hamilton got another chance with the White Sox in 2020, but his velocity was a tick down. He was then claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners in September.

Ian works slowly and deliberately on the mound. He’s somewhat arm-heavy in his delivery, but has learned to use his lower half more effectively. In some ways similar to Carson Fulmer, Hamilton generates velocity from a relatively small frame and some significant effort (though Hamilton’s isn’t as violent as Fulmer’s). At his best, his fastball velocity is in the upper 90s. His main secondary pitch is an upper 80s slider that showed very nice break, but reportedly can get up to 90 and has been getting plus marks from scouts. His location has improved to where he’s keeping walks at a reasonable level.