Bubba Thompson

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Bubba Thompson
Texas Rangers
Outfielder
Born: (1998-06-09) June 9, 1998 (age 23)
Jacksonville, Florida
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Leslie A. "Bubba" Thompson (born June 9, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Texas Rangers organization.

Amateur career[]

Thompson attended McGill–Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile, Alabama. He played baseball and American football in high school.[1] As a junior in baseball, he hit .469 with 19 stolen bases.[2] During his senior year in football, he led his team to the Class 7A state title game, and passed for 3,173 yards and 38 touchdowns.[2]

He originally committed to Auburn University to play college baseball, but changed his commitment to the University of Alabama in February 2017.[3][4][5] A three-star football recruit, he also received offers to play college football from the University of Tennessee and the University of Mississippi.[6][7]

Thompson was considered one of the top prospects for the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[8][9] Thompson was drafted by the Texas Rangers with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the draft.[10]

Professional career[]

Thompson officially signed with the Rangers a few days after the draft[11] and was assigned to the AZL Rangers, where he spent the whole season, posting a .257 batting average with three home runs and 12 RBIs in thirty games.[12] He spent 2018 with the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League, where he slashed .289/.344/.446 with eight home runs, 42 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases.[13]

Thompson was ranked as the #48 overall prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus in their preseason 2019 Top 101 list.[14] Thompson was ranked as the #108 overall prospect in baseball by Fangraphs in their preseason 2019 Top 130 list.[15]

Thompson was assigned to the Down East Wood Ducks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League for the 2019 season.[16][17] He was placed on the injured list on April 17, after suffering a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.[18] He finished an injury marred season hitting .178/.261/.312/.573 with five home runs and 21 RBIs in 57 games.[19] Thompson played in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros following the 2019 season,[20][21] and was named a Fall League All-Star.[22] Thompson did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thompson spent the 2021 season with the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Central, hitting .275/.325/.483/.808 with 16 home runs, 52 RBI, and 25 stolen bases.[23] He was named the co-winner of the Rangers' 2021 True Ranger Award, along with Keyber Rodriguez.[24]

References[]

  1. ^ Ben Thomas (July 28, 2016). "McGill-Toolen's multi-talented Bubba Thompson could have future in baseball, football or both". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Tim Whelan Jr. (February 7, 2017). "Two-sport star Bubba Thompson commits to Alabama to play baseball". USA Today. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Ben Thomas (November 23, 2016). "McGill-Toolen QB Bubba Thompson de-commits from Auburn baseball, wants to play 2 sports". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Ben Thomas (February 7, 2017). "McGill-Toolen two-sport star Bubba Thompson picks baseball, will sign with Alabama". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  5. ^ David Johnson (November 24, 2016). "Ole Miss QB Target De-Commits From Auburn Baseball". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  6. ^ Ryan Callahan (November 23, 2016). "Tennessee Vols QB target Bubba Thompson decommits from Auburn baseball". 247Sports.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  7. ^ Ben Thomas (October 18, 2016). "Auburn baseball commit Bubba Thompson receives 1st SEC football offer". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  8. ^ Ben Thomas (May 2, 2017). "Bama baseball signee Bubba Thompson has 'star upside,' could be picked in 1st round of MLB Draft". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  9. ^ MLB Pipeline. "MLB.com 2017 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  10. ^ T.R. Sullivan (June 12, 2017). "Rangers draft Bubba Thompson with first pick". MLB.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  11. ^ Ben Thomas (June 16, 2017). "Former McGill-Toolen star Bubba Thompson officially signs with Texas Rangers". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  12. ^ "Bubba Thompson Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  13. ^ "Bubba Thompson Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  14. ^ BP Prospect Staff (January 23, 2019). "2019 Prospects: The Top 101". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  15. ^ Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel (February 13, 2019). "2019 Top 100 Prospects". Fangraphs. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  16. ^ Jordan Honeycutt (April 3, 2019). "Bubba Thompson, a fresh face for Wood Ducks". Jacksonville Daily News. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  17. ^ Matt Present (March 27, 2019). "Wood Ducks Announce 2019 Roster". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  18. ^ Evan Grant (April 17, 2019). "Rangers prospect Bubba Thompson out four weeks with fractured hamate bone". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  19. ^ Jamey Newberg (September 12, 2019). "Long-term looks: Three high-upside Rangers outfield prospects on the horizon". The Athletic. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  20. ^ Matt Present (April 28, 2019). "Three Wood Ducks to Compete in Arizona Fall League". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  21. ^ Jim Callis (September 30, 2019). "No. 8 prospect seeks rhythm in AFL after injuries". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  22. ^ Jonathan Mayo (October 8, 2019). "Here are Saturday's Fall Stars Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  23. ^ Landry, Kennedi (October 1, 2021). "Snyder, Winn among Minors Awards winners". MLB.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  24. ^ Blake, John (October 1, 2021). "Texas Rangers announce 2021 Minor League award winners". MLB.com. Retrieved October 4, 2021.

External links[]

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