The New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 on Thursday, behind a six-inning, eight strikeout effort from Gerrit Cole who recorded his seventh win since returning from Tommy John surgery.
The win completed a three-game sweep of Baltimore, and was the fourth victory in a row for the Yankees who now return home to face the Blue Jays. But before the series sweep of the Orioles was complete, the Yankees announced some bad news on one of their most important pitching prospects.
The Yankees, who placed No. 6 prospect Ben Hess on the 7-day injured list just two days ago, on Thursday announced that Hess was shifted to the 60-day IL, effectively ending the 23-year-old’s season.
New York Yankees Prospect Ben Hess’ Injury TimelineGettyNo. 6 overall Yankees prospect Ben Hess will not pitch again this season,
Hess first landed on Somerset’s seven-day injured list on April 18, a move that came without an official diagnosis.
Reporting at the time pointed to an arm issue, and his final start before the shutdown backed that up, with five walks, two hit batters and a wild pitch across just 2 2/3 innings, according to CBS Sports. But in April, Hess missed time with forearm and elbow inflammation.
Hess returned to Somerset’s rotation on May 14 after missing nearly four weeks. His command problems didn’t fully disappear.
Hess struggled again in his final outings before the second shutdown, then sat out his next scheduled turn before Somerset placed him back on the seven-day injured list. The Patriots announced the move alongside three other roster transactions.
Reporter Greg Johnson noted the pattern, writing that Hess “hasn’t pitched since” his 90-pitch outing earlier that month and was “now back on the IL.”
On August 20, the club escalated the move to the 60-day list, a designation that all but guarantees Hess won’t pitch again in 2026. New York has still not disclosed a specific diagnosis for the August setback.
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New York Yankees’ Draft History and Ben Hess’ FutureNew York took Hess 26th overall out of Alabama in the 2024 MLB Draft, signing him for a below-slot $2.75 million bonus. He was the first pitcher the Yankees selected with their top pick since Clarke Schmidt in 2017.
Then-scouting director Damon Oppenheimer called him a fit for “a potential top-of-the-line Major League starter,” pointing to a fastball touching 97 mph and a pair of breaking balls, as quoted by an MLB.comBryan Hoch in his draft-day report.
Hess built on that promise in 2025, posting a 3.22 ERA and 139 strikeouts across 103 1/3 innings between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset, numbers that pushed him into the Yankees’ top-five prospect tier, according to Pinstripe Alley’s season preview coverage.
MLB Pipeline now ranks the right-handed Hess as the organization’s No. 6 prospect, and the fourth-ranked pitcher.
His 2026 Double-A line now finished at 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA, 65 strikeouts and a 1.45 WHIP across 16 starts, pushing his career minor league totals to 10-8 with a 3.66 ERA and 204 strikeouts over 160 innings.
The Yankees have carried a 2027 major league timetable for Hess dating back to spring training, banking on his size and power arsenal to eventually bolster their rotation.
New York’s big league staff remains stocked with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, buying the organization time. But a healthy, full 2027 campaign now looks essential if Hess is going to keep pace with the development track the Yankees mapped out when they made him their top pick.
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