Jake Thompson

Thompson attended Rockwall-Heath High School in Heath, Texas.^[1] There, in his senior year he was 12-3 with a 1.90 ERA and batted .504 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs in 131 at bats, and Baseball America named him a First-Team High School All-American.^[2] He committed to attend Texas Christian University (TCU) on a college baseball scholarship to play for the TCU Horned Frogs baseball team.^[3] However, the Detroit Tigers selected Thompson in the second round of the 2012 MLB draft,^[4][5] and he signed with the Tigers for a $532,000 signing bonus.^[6]

He made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast Tigers of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, recording six strikeouts over four innings with one hit allowed.^[7] He finished his first season 1–2 with a 1.91 earned run average (ERA) and 31 strikeouts over 28+1⁄3 innings in seven starts. Right-handed batters hit .125 against him.^[2]

Thompson played the 2013 season with the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Single-A Midwest League.^[8] He pitched in 17 games with 16 starts, going 3–3 with a 3.13 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 83+1⁄3 innings. He started the 2014 season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the High-A Florida State League.^[9] He was a mid-season Florida State League All Star.^[10] In July, Thompson played in the All-Star Futures Game, and was promoted to the Erie SeaWolves of the Double-A Eastern League.^[11]

On July 23, 2014, the Tigers traded Thompson and Corey Knebel to the Texas Rangers in exchange for reliever Joakim Soria.^[12] The Rangers assigned Thompson to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League.^[3] After the 2014 season, MLB.com named him the 6th-best prospect in Texas's minor league system.^[2] In 2015 he was a Texas League mid-season All-Star.^[2]

On July 31, 2015, Thompson was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Alec Asher, Matt Harrison, and Jerad Eickhoff in exchange for Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman.^[13] Thompson pitched for the Reading Fightin Phils of the Double-A Eastern League.^[14] After the 2015 season, Baseball America him the 3rd-best prospect in the Phillies minor league system.^[2]

In 2016, Thompson pitched for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the Triple-A International League. He led the league with a 2.50 ERA and tied for the most wins with 11. He won the International League Most Valuable Pitcher Award.^[2] He was also named an International League Post-Season All Star, and Baseball America Triple-A All Star.^[10]

Thompson received his MLB callup on August 6, 2016,^[15] as the starting pitcher against the San Diego Padres in a 9–7 loss.^[16] He earned his first MLB win on August 12, in a 10–6 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. He also struck out four batters in the second inning of that game.^[17] Thompson finished his rookie season with a 3-6 record with a 5.70 ERA and 32 strikeouts over ten MLB starts.^[18]

During the 2017 season Thompson split time between the Phillies and Lehigh Valley, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.88 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 11 appearances (8 starts).^[18]

Thompson recorded his first MLB career save on April 8, 2018 against the Miami Marlins, pitching three scoreless innings to end a 20-1 blowout. Despite this performance, Thompson was optioned Triple-A immediately after the game.^[19] He was designated for assignment by the Phillies on August 10.^[20]

On August 14, 2018, the Phillies traded Thompson to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for cash considerations, and Milwaukee optioned him to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.^[21] He was designated for assignment on August 31, 2018. He was outrighted to Triple-A on September 3, 2018 and became a free agent after the season.^[22]

On December 13, 2018, Thompson signed a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Lotte Giants of the KBO League.^[23]

On June 9, 2019, he was released by the Giants.^[24]

On July 25, 2019, Thompson signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers organization.^[25] In 7 games (5 starts) for the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers and Double-A Erie SeaWolves, Thompson registered a cumulative 5-0 record and 1.99 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 31+2⁄3 innings of work. He became a free agent following the season on November 7, 2019.^[26]

On January 22, 2020, Thompson signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels organization. Thompson did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[27] He became a free agent on November 2.

On May 25, 2021, Thompson signed with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League.^[28] He started 11 games for the team, posting a 4-3 record and 3.02 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 59.2 innings pitched. The following year, Thompson made 17 appearances (14 starts) for the team, but struggled to a 5-4 record and 6.93 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 61.0 innings of work. Thompson won the Mexican League Championship with the Leones in 2022.^[29] In 2023, Thompson made 18 starts for Yucatán, posting a 6–3 record and 2.71 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 89+2⁄3 innings of work.

On November 22, 2023, Thompson was traded to the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League in exchange for Xorge Carrillo.^[30] On April 5, 2024, Thompson was loaned to the Caliente de Durango.^[31] In five starts, he posted a 1–2 record with a 3.24 ERA and 16 strikeouts over 25 innings.

On May 28, 2024, Thompson was returned back to the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.^[32]

• List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Jake Thompson on X