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South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 72: Ethan Hammerberg

More than just a perfect closer’s name — this guy can pitch

By Brett Ballantini
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It’s not often we get to see a player picked lower in the draft get selected, but last summer we saw Ethan Hammerberg — who at that point might be thinking he’d go undrafted — get snagged in the final round.
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Ethan Hammerberg

Right-Handed Relief Pitcher
6´5´´
250 pounds
Age: 22
2022 High Level Arizona (Rookie)
Age relative to high level -0.2 years
SSS rank among all right-handed relief pitchers in the system 14
Overall 2022 pro stats 0-0 ⚾️ 6 games (1 finished) ⚾️ 6 IP ⚾️ 0.00 ERA ⚾️ 0.333 WHIP ⚾️ 9 K ⚾️ 1 BB

We always get footage of the first-rounder getting picked each year ... but how cool is it that we got this 20th-rounder moment, courtesy of the Cape Cod League, last summer?

Beyond cool, it’s looking like the White Sox made the right move, at the right time: With the 611th overall and their final pick in the 2022 MLB draft, the White Sox took on this righthander from Ohio State University.

Hammerberg is not going to let anyone muscle him off of the block, at 6´5´´, 250 pounds. After seeing almost no action in the first two seasons of his career (nine games), he threw in 25 contests in 2022, to a 4.54 ERA and 1.150 WHIP. He followed that up this summer with an excellent Cape Cod League campaign in summer ball, pitching in nine games to a 2.57 ERA. Though his peripherals were weaker in his college season, he had more than five strikeouts per walk (49 Ks/nine walks). So there is some great promise there, with a bit more repeatable delivery and movement.

All the better, Hammerberg nailed (yep, went there) his short pro audition in Arizona, with six games, in setup/closer mode, and was nearly perfect.

Six-game sample, but who cares, let’s bask in the madness of Ethan’s debut:

Hammerberg’s Baseball Cube player ratings
K/BB 97
Strikeouts 94
Walks 90
Hittable 76
vs. Power 76
Durability 43
Team Winning Percentage .500

Hammerberg’s age and big-conference experience assures he’s playing a full season in 2023, likely starting in Low-A Kanny. But if his hot streak to end 2022 (Cape Cod, ACL) keeps up, he’ll be in Winston-Salem, and quickly.

2023 South Side Sox Top 104 White Sox Prospects

72. Ethan Hammerberg, RHRP
73. Lincoln Henzman, RHRP
74. Vince Vannelle, RHRP
75. Brooks Baldwin, 3B-2B
76. James Beard, CF
77. Gabriel Rodríguez, RHSP
78. Ronny Hernandez, C
79. Troy Claunch, C
80. Brooks Gosswein, LHSP
81. Tim Elko, 1B
82. Yoelvín Silven, RHRP
83. Trey Jeans, LHRP
84. Jerry Burke, RHSP
85. Carlos Jiménez, 1B
86. Mason Adams, RHSP
87. Frankeli Arias, LHSP
88. Ernesto Jaquez, RHSP
89. Laz Rivera, 3B
90. Xavier Fernández, C
91. Álvaro Agüero, CF
92. Ben Norman, RF
93. Erick Bello, RHRP
94. Adisyn Coffey, RHRP
95. Arnold Prado, RF
96. Alsander Womack, 2B
97. Johan Domínguez, RHSP
98. Evan Skoug, C
99. Noah Owen, RHSP
100. Javier Mora, 2B
101. Will Kincanon, RHRP
102. Yohemy Nolasco, RHSP
103. Billy Seidl, RHRP
104. José Rodulfo, RHRP

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