Phillies Call-Up: Late Season and Beyond

JAKE THOMPSON – STARTING PITCHER

Originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers (2nd round) in 2012, Jake Thompson was shipped to Texas, and acquired by the Phillies in the Hamels deal.

The big ol’ hard-throwin’ 6’4″, 235 pound Texan has had a steady minor league career to this point, going 34-22 with a solid 3.02 ERA and averaging 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

After coming over from the Rangers organization last summer, Thompson was dominant with AA Reading, going 5-1 with an impressive 1.80 ERA in seven starts.

He has been continued to impress this year with the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs, posting a somewhat misleading 9-5 record, a 2.29 ERA in 117.2 innings of work, and allowing a solid 1.105 WHIP.

The current #47 prospect in the game per MLB Pipeline, Thompson has been absolutely ridiculous of late, allowing only one earned run in his last 33 1/3 innings of work and a mere four in his last 62 1/3 !

With hitters slashing an embarrassing .180/.254/.234 against him over the past month, Thompson’s performance has been one of the brightest across the minor leagues.

All that remains for Thompson at this point is to prove he can do the same in the big leagues when the lights are the brightest and hitters make adjustments after every AB, feeding on a pitcher’s mistakes like a mosquito in a blood bank.

Given his performance not only this year, but throughout the past five seasons, Thompson appears to be next in line to get his shot on the mound.

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