Zack Thompson


Zachary David Thompson is an American professional baseball pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

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. After his senior year, he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 11th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. However, he did not sign and instead chose to enroll at the University of Kentucky to play college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
In 2017, as a freshman at Kentucky, Thompson appeared in twenty games in which he went 8-3 with a 3.45 ERA. As a sophomore in 2018, Thompson missed nearly two months due to an elbow injury. He appeared in nine games, making seven starts, going 2-1 with a 4.94 ERA. That summer, Thompson played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Brewster Whitecaps as well as for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Prior to the 2019 season, Thompson was named to the Preseason All-SEC First Team. 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. 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.
Thompson was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals with the 19th overall pick. He signed for $3 million, and made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Cardinals. After two relief appearances, he was promoted to the Palm Beach Cardinals, with whom he finished the year. Over innings pitched with Palm Beach, Thompson compiled a 4.05 ERA, striking out 19.