The New York Yankees organization delivered some disappointing news at the minor-league level on Tuesday when they placed right-handed pitcher Ben Hess on the 7-day injured list with Double-A Somerset.
Hess, a first-round selection in the 2024 MLB Draft, ranks among the club’s top prospects and had been working to regain consistency after an earlier injury this season.
The 23-year-old from Moline, Illinois, was taken 26th overall out of Alabama and signed for a substantial bonus that reflected his size, stuff, and projection as a potential mid-rotation starter or better.
Standing 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, Hess possesses a fastball that has touched the upper 90s along with a slider that can miss bats.
He enjoyed a strong professional debut in 2025, posting a 3.22 ERA with 139 strikeouts in 103.1 innings across High-A and Double-A. That performance helped establish him as a key piece of the Yankees’ pitching pipeline.
This year has proven more challenging. Hess landed on the injured list in mid-April with an elbow and forearm issue and missed roughly four weeks before returning in mid-May. In 16 starts for Somerset he is 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA, 56.2 innings, and 65 strikeouts.
Command has been an issue at times, contributing to a higher walk rate than he showed in college or during his first pro season.
There were recent signs of progress. In late July he delivered one of his better outings of the year, working 5.1 innings with seven strikeouts and no earned runs while touching 98 mph. On August 2 he recorded his first quality start of 2026, lasting 6.1 innings.
Those appearances suggested he was beginning to settle in. However, Somerset skipped his turn in the rotation last week, and the club has now officially placed him on the injured list. The organization has not specified the nature of the latest issue.
The timing is unfortunate for both Hess and the Yankees, who sit second in the American League East at 69-55 as they open a series in Baltimore. While the big-league club continues its playoff push, development of young arms like Hess remains important for the longer term.
His combination of size, velocity, and prior success gives him a high ceiling, but staying healthy has been a recurring theme in his career, including earlier issues in college and high school.
Hess will now focus on recovery with the hope of returning before the minor-league season concludes. For a pitcher still only 23 years old and already viewed as a top talent in the system, another setback is a reminder of the physical demands of developing as a starting pitcher.
The Yankees will monitor his progress closely as they evaluate how he fits into their future plans.
