Zack Thompson

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For the right-handed pitcher, see Zach Thompson (baseball). For other people with similar names, see Zachary Thompson (disambiguation).
Zack Thompson
St. Louis Cardinals
Pitcher
Born: (1997-10-28) October 28, 1997 (age 24)
Selma, Indiana
Bats: Left
Throws: Left

Zachary David Thompson (born October 28, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 215 pounds (98 kg), he throws and bats left-handed.

Amateur career[]

Thompson attended Wapahani High School in Selma, Indiana. He pitched to a combined 19–0 record and 0.59 ERA as a sophomore and junior along with going 4–2 with a 1.88 ERA and striking out 119 batters in 56 innings as a senior.[1] After his senior year, he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 11th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[2] However, he did not sign and instead chose to enroll at the University of Kentucky to play college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats.[3]

In 2017, as a freshman at Kentucky, Thompson appeared in twenty games (13 starts) in which he went 8–3 with a 3.45 ERA.[4] As a sophomore in 2018, Thompson missed nearly two months due to an elbow injury.[5][6] He appeared in nine games, making seven starts, going 2–1 with a 4.94 ERA.[7][8] That summer, Thompson played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Brewster Whitecaps and also played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.[9][10][11][12][13] Prior to the 2019 season, Thompson was named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team.[14] He was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week on April 1 after throwing a complete game shutout against the Georgia Bulldogs in which he struck out 13 batters while allowing only two hits.[15] Thompson finished his junior year with a 6-1 record and a 2.40 ERA over 14 starts, striking out 130 batters in ninety innings, earning a spot on the All-SEC Second Team.[16]

Professional career[]

Thompson was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[17] He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 19th overall pick.[18][19] He signed for $3 million and made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Cardinals.[20][21] After two relief appearances, he was promoted to the Class A-Advanced Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League, with whom he finished the year.[22] Over 13+1⁄3 innings pitched with Palm Beach, Thompson compiled a 4.05 ERA, striking out 19.[23]

Thompson did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] For the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Memphis Redbirds of the Triple-A East, appearing in 22 games (19 starts) in which he went 2-10 with a 7.06 ERA, 82 strikeouts, and 57 walks over 93 innings.[25] Thompson was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League (AFL) for the Glendale Desert Dogs after the season where he was named to the Fall Stars Game.[26][27] Over 17+1⁄3 innings pitched during the AFL, Thompson went 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and 15 walks.[28]

Personal life[]

Thompson grew up a fan of the Chicago Cubs.[18]

References[]

  1. ^ "Evaluating Zack Thompson's MLB draft prospects". Star Press. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "Wapahani's Thompson picked in 11th round of MLB draft". Star Press. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "Zack Thompson turns down MLB, will enroll at Kentucky". Cats Illustrated. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  4. ^ "Justin Lewis' return gives Kentucky baseball strong rotation for 2018". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  5. ^ "'They're not giving us a chance.' Kentucky baseball out to shock the SEC again". Lexington Herald Leader. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  6. ^ "Zack Thompson on returning from injury, the MLB draft and his Wapahani roots". Star Press. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  7. ^ "Zack Thompson poised to go early in 2019 draft". The 3rd Man In. 27 December 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  8. ^ "Notes: See where Kentucky's Zack Thompson lands on top 50 prospects list". Star Press. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  9. ^ Staff, B. A. "Top Kentucky 2019 MLB Draft Prospects". www.baseballamerica.com.
  10. ^ "Zack Thompson". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Zack Thompson selected to USA baseball collegiate national team". Mountain News WYMT. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  12. ^ "Zack Thompson on experience with USA Baseball Collegiate National Team". Star Press. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  13. ^ "UK's Zach Thompson selected to USA Baseball Collegiate National Team". WDKY. 7 June 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  14. ^ "Collett, Thompson Earn Coaches Preseason All-SEC Honors". Bluegrass Sports Nation. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "Zack Thompson Named the SEC Pitcher of the Week". Kentucky Sports Radio. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  16. ^ "Zack Thompson Named Second-Team All-SEC". University of Kentucky Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  17. ^ "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". Major League Baseball.
  18. ^ a b Hale, Jon. "St. Louis Cardinals fans, meet first-round MLB draft pick, Kentucky's Zack Thompson". The Courier-Journal.
  19. ^ Hummel, Rick. "Cub fan no more: Cardinals draft Kentucky lefty who has shed his arm issues". stltoday.com.
  20. ^ Hale, Jon. "Kentucky's Zack Thompson signs with St. Louis Cardinals". The Courier-Journal.
  21. ^ https://www.bnd.com/sports/mlb/st-louis-cardinals/article231447223.html[dead link]
  22. ^ Rains, Rob (July 4, 2019). "The #STLCards have promoted their first round draft pick, LHP Zack Thompson, from GCL Cardinals to Palm Beach".
  23. ^ Saxon, Mark. "Q&A with the Cardinals' 2019 first-round pick, left-hander Zack Thompson". The Athletic.
  24. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
  25. ^ "Redbirds Announce Opening Day Roster". MiLB.com.
  26. ^ "Cardinals announce 2021 Arizona Fall League selections". MLB.com.
  27. ^ "Check out the Fall Stars Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
  28. ^ "How 5 top Cards prospects stack up for '22". MLB.com.

External links[]

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