Double-A Somerset placed Hess on its 7-day injured list April 18 due to an unspecified injury.
The Yankees haven't provided word on the nature of Hess's injury, but he could be dealing with something arm-related after he issued five walks, hit two batters and threw a wild pitch in just 2.2 innings in his final start before landing on the shelf. Hess was a standout performer between stops at High-A Hudson Valley and Somerset in 2025, logging a 3.22 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 139:46 K:BB in 103.1 innings.
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Yankees' Ben Hess: Missing bats for Patriots
Rotowire
Hess has a 3.16 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 32:10 K:BB in 25.2 innings across five starts for Double-A Somerset.
The Yankees selected Hess with the 26th pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft and he has logged 20 starts and 92.1 innings thus far in his first pro season. Hess, who was promoted from High-A Hudson Valley to Double-A on Aug. 5, has a strong 33.2 percent strikeout rate on the year, but his 11.3 percent walk rate is a tad high. Hess has a couple plus pitches in his mid-90s fastball and mid-70s curveball while his slider and changeup lag behind. He should spend the bulk of 2026 at Triple-A, but a summer promotion to the big leagues is in play if Hess picks up where he left off this season.
