Ian Hamilton #71

Ian Francis Hamilton...Twitter: @ianhamilton5...Instagram: hambonez\_99\_...born in Dover, New Hampshire and grew up in Vancouver, Washington, where he lettered four times in baseball and once in football...went 8-1 with a 1.17 ERA as as senior, leading Skyview High School to the 4A Washington State High School Championship and being named Class 4A Baseball Player of the Year...attended Washington State University, where he was a three-year letterwinner…named Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and NCBWA after leading the Pac-12 with a school record 15 saves...named to All-Pac-12 Conference First Team as a sophomore...set a school record with 28 career saves...was a reliever his first two years at WSU before converting to a starter his junior season...heading into his junior season, was ranked No. 44 among the Top 100 college prospects by Baseball America, and garnered Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America Second Team honors...played for the Wareham Gatemen in the 2016 Cape Cod League and was named team’s top pitcher after posting a 0.89 ERA (40.1 IP, 4 ER) in 12 games...was named Co-MVP of the CCL All-Star Game...teammates on the Gatemen with fellow Twins offseason acquisition Shaun Anderson, on a pitching staff that, according to a former broadcaster, was infamous for starting a bonfire in the bullpen during a game that resulted in a call to the fire department...during spring training with Chicago-AL in 2019, paired up with teammate Ryan Burr to recreate the infamous 1804 duel between Alexander (Ian) Hamilton and Aaron (Ryan) Burr, in full period costume; the actual duel between the then-sitting vice president (Burr) and former secretary of the treasury (Hamilton) served as the final chapter in a long-standing rivalry between the two historical figures and remains one of the most famous interpersonal conflicts in U.S. history; the duel resulted in Hamilton’s death the next day.

2021

Was invited to Twins major league spring training as a non-roster invite...posted a 7.71 ERA (4.2 IP, 4 ER) with four walks and six strikeouts in five spring training relief appearances for the Twins... Assigned to Triple-A St. Paul on May 3 and spent the entire season with the Saints... Started thrice on the season: July 14 vs. Columbus (3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 4 K), Aug. 3 vs. Louisville (3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R/ER, 2 K) and Aug.7 vs. Louisville (3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R/ER, 4 K)...marked the first starts of his professional career... Matched his career-high with five strikeouts on Sept.18 at Indianapolis (1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB)...did so for the second time, after also turning the trick on July 27, 2018 at Pawtucket (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB)... Held left-handed batters to a .194 (18-for-93) batting average, while righties hit .235 (28-for-119) against him... Owned a 2.06 ERA (35.0 IP, 8 ER) in 20 games (3 starts) at home and a 7.13 ERA (24.0 IP, 19 ER) in 18 road games...Went 4-3, 4.12 ERA (59.0 IP, 27 ER) with four saves, 39 walks, 86 strikeouts and a 1.44 WHIP in 38 games (3 starts) for St. Paul. 

2020

Ranked as the No. 18 prospect in the Chicago-AL organization prior to the season....Began the season at the White Sox alternate training site at Boomers Stadium in Schaumburg, Illinois...recalled on July 27 and appeared in four games (4.50 ERA, 4.0 IP, 2 ER) before going on the 10-day Injured List on Aug. 15 (retro to 8/12) with right shoulder soreness...Optioned back to the alternate training site Aug. 22...designated for assignment Sept. 18 and claimed off waivers by Seattle on Sept. 25.

2019

Appeared in just 16 games with Class AAA Charlotte due to multiple stints on the injured list ... Opened the season on the White Sox 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation suffered during spring training … was reinstated and optioned to Charlotte on 4/4 ... Was placed on the Knights IL on 5/22 with left quad discomfort … during his IL stint, was struck by a foul ball in June … suffered multiple facial fractures and missed the rest of 2019 ... Preseason MLB.com Rankings: No. 14 prospect in the White Sox system.

2018

Appeared in 10 games with the White Sox in September after spending most of the season with Class AA Birmingham and Class AAA Charlotte ... Held opponents to a .207 (6-29) average (righties hit .105) ... His contract was purchased from Charlotte on 8/31 … made his major-league debut that night vs. Boston, working 1.0 scoreless IP ... Worked 1.1 scoreless IP on 9/3 vs. Detroit … fanned Victor Reyes in the eighth for his first career strikeout ... Suffered his first career loss on 9/9 vs. the Angels (1 ER/0.2 IP), and recorded his first hold on 9/14 at Baltimore ... Allowed a game-ending grand slam to Jason Kipnis on 9/19 at Cleveland … suffered the loss on 9/24 vs. Indians after allowing a go-ahead, solo homer to Brandon Guyer in the seventh ... Earned his first win on 9/25 vs. Cleveland (0.1 scoreless IP) ... Combined to go 3-2 with a 1.74 ERA (10 ER/51.2 IP), 22 saves, 62 strikeouts and a .205 (38-185) opponents average over 43 games between Birmingham and Charlotte ... Ranked eighth in all of minor league baseball in saves … went 22-26 (84.6) in save opportunities ... Began the season with the Barons, converting his first 10 save chances from 4/11-6/7 ... Was promoted to the Knights on 6/21 … ranked second in the Southern League in saves (12) at the time of his promotion ... Threw 8.0 consecutive scoreless IP over his first seven games with Charlotte ... Recorded his 20th save on 8/22 at Norfolk … became the first White Sox minor leaguer with 20-plus saves since Anthony Carter (22) in 2010 ... Entered the season rated by Baseball America as the No. 23 prospect in the Chicago organization.

2017

Went a combined 4-7 with a 2.64 ERA (21 ER/71.2 IP), seven saves and 74 strikeouts over 44 appearances between Class A Winston-Salem and Class AA Birmingham ... Was promoted to the Barons on 4/28, making 14 appearances before being optioned back to Winston-Salem on 6/21.

2016

Combined to go 1-1 with a 3.69 ERA (13 ER/32.2 IP) and 29 strikeouts over 22 outings between the Arizona Rookie League White Sox and Class A Kannapolis ... Led Kannapolis in saves (8), ranked second among relievers in opponents average (.202) and fourth in WHIP (1.14) ... Was promoted to Kannapolis on 6/24 … held lefties to a .171 (7-41) average and righties to a .221 (15-68) mark ... Converted seven consecutive saves to close the season.