Zack Thompson
26-Year-Old
2024 Stats
W-L
0-2
ERA
9.53
WHIP
1.88
K
20
SV
0
Rest-of-Season Projections
2024 Fantasy Outlook
In a season filled with minor controversies and culminating in a rare last-place finish for St. Louis, the Cardinals' mishandling of Thompson might have flown under the radar. He was told to prepare for a relief role at spring training before suddenly being optioned to Triple-A Memphis in early May to stretch out as a starter. He then returned to the majors to fill a bullpen opening in July before ultimately being pressed into starting duties by default following the deadline trades of Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty. Thompson boasts an impressive fastball-curve-cutter arsenal and has been working to improve his changeup, but the 26-year-old southpaw could be faced with an even greater level of job uncertainty in 2024 after the Cards brought in veteran starters Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn over the winter. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#594
ADP
Dispatched to minors
The Cardinals optioned Thompson to Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
ANALYSIS
Thompson broke camp with the Cardinals in a starting role, but he was moved to the bullpen upon Sonny Gray's return from the injured list earlier this month after giving up eight earned runs over 10.1 innings between his first two turns through the rotation. The left-hander didn't adapt well to the shift to a relief role, as he produced a 13.50 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and 11:2 K:BB in 6.2 innings across his three appearances out of the bullpen before St. Louis opted to send him to the minors. Thompson will likely slot into the rotation as he heads to Memphis.
Thompson broke camp with the Cardinals in a starting role, but he was moved to the bullpen upon Sonny Gray's return from the injured list earlier this month after giving up eight earned runs over 10.1 innings between his first two turns through the rotation. The left-hander didn't adapt well to the shift to a relief role, as he produced a 13.50 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and 11:2 K:BB in 6.2 innings across his three appearances out of the bullpen before St. Louis opted to send him to the minors. Thompson will likely slot into the rotation as he heads to Memphis.
Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2020
Minor League Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
63
Last 10 Games
63
Last 5 Games
63
How many pitches does Zack Thompson generally throw?
1-10
11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-90
91-100
101-110
111-120
121+
What part of the game does Zack Thompson generally pitch?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-18%
BAA vs LHP
2024
-19%
BAA vs LHP
BAA | K | BB | H | HR | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022vs Left | .218 | 33 | 15 | 31 | 2 | |||
Since 2022vs Right | .265 | 86 | 32 | 82 | 15 | |||
2024vs Left | .280 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | |||
2024vs Right | .347 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 5 | |||
2023vs Left | .246 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 1 | |||
2023vs Right | .278 | 53 | 15 | 52 | 7 | |||
2022vs Left | .146 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 0 | |||
2022vs Right | .176 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 3 | |||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
-21%
ERA on Road
2024
-48%
ERA on Road
ERA | WHIP | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Since 2022Home | 5.03 | 1.42 | 59.0 | 9.3 | 2.9 | ||||
Since 2022Away | 3.97 | 1.29 | 59.0 | 8.8 | 4.3 | ||||
2024Home | 13.50 | 2.25 | 6.2 | 14.9 | 2.7 | ||||
2024Away | 6.97 | 1.65 | 10.1 | 7.8 | 5.2 | ||||
2023Home | 3.57 | 1.21 | 40.1 | 9.4 | 2.5 | ||||
2023Away | 5.88 | 1.73 | 26.0 | 10.4 | 4.8 | ||||
2022Home | 5.25 | 1.67 | 12.0 | 6.0 | 4.5 | ||||
2022Away | 0.40 | 0.62 | 22.2 | 7.5 | 3.2 | ||||
More Splits→ | View More Split Stats |
Stat Review
How does Zack Thompson compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
K/BB
2.50K/9
10.6BB/9
4.2HR/9
3.2Fastball
90.8 mphERA
9.53WHIP
1.88BABIP
.392GB/FB
1.05Left On Base
59.3%Exit Velocity
84.3 mphBarrels/BBE
6.5%Spin Rate
1820 rpmBalls Hit 95+ MPH
28.7%Swinging Strike
10.1%Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Could soon join MLB rotation
Manager Oliver Marmol said Thompson is a candidate to start Friday against the Brewers, reports Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.
ANALYSIS
Matthew Liberatore received a spot start Sunday in place of Steven Matz, who recently landed on the shelf with a back injury, but Thompson could step into that spot for the next turn through the rotation. The 26-year-old Thompson has made five appearances in the big leagues so far this season and has given up 18 earned runs with a 20:8 K:BB across 17 innings. The left-hander has been much better at Triple-A Memphis with no runs allowed over 7.2 frames.
Matthew Liberatore received a spot start Sunday in place of Steven Matz, who recently landed on the shelf with a back injury, but Thompson could step into that spot for the next turn through the rotation. The 26-year-old Thompson has made five appearances in the big leagues so far this season and has given up 18 earned runs with a 20:8 K:BB across 17 innings. The left-hander has been much better at Triple-A Memphis with no runs allowed over 7.2 frames.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2023
2021
The Cardinals drafted Thompson with the 19th overall pick in 2019. Called up in early June of last year, Thompson made a splash right away, becoming the first player in 45 years to pitch four or more innings and record the save in their big-league debut. A starter at Triple-A in 2021, Thompson began his transition to the bullpen over the first couple months of last season and ended up pitching almost exclusively in relief as a rookie (22 appearances, one start). He was fantastic from a run-prevention standpoint, though the underlying numbers were less impressive, in particular a strikeout rate a shade under 20 percent. A lot will be asked of his defense once again in 2023. Expect some giveback and don't bother in a mixed league unless Thompson is getting starts for St. Louis.
More Fantasy News
Set to lose rotation spot
Thompson is expected to lose his rotation spot and move to the bullpen with Sonny Gray (hamstring) on track to return from the 15-day injured list to start Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
ANALYSIS
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Struggles with control in loss
Thompson (0-2) took the loss Wednesday against the Padres, surrendering three runs on five hits and four walks across five innings. He struck out five.
ANALYSIS
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Falls to Dodgers
Thompson dropped to 0-1 in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Dodgers after striking out four while allowing five earned runs on six hits and two walks over 5.1 innings.
ANALYSIS
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Taking Gray's rotation spot
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol announced Friday that Thompson will be a member of the club's season-opening rotation, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
ANALYSIS
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Competing for rotation spot
Thompson allowed two runs on three hits and struck out three without walking a batter in Saturday's Grapefruit league start versus the Astros.
ANALYSIS
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