Thompson 'living out dream' with St. Louis
Jan. 19—Zack Thompson grew up in Selma, Indiana. He attended Wapahani High School in Selma before becoming an ace on the mound for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Thompson also grew up a Chicago Cubs fan.
"We had WGN on every night so Cubs games were always available," Thompson said.
That was set aside in 2019 when Thompson was selected 19th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals — the Cubs' biggest rival.
"When I was growing up the Cardinals usually got the best of the Cubs," Thompson said. "So I wasn't the biggest Cardinals fan at the time. Once you get inside the organization, you get to know the people, you get to experience the best organization in baseball, the best fans in baseball, it really changes your perception. There's no place I'd rather be."
The left-handed pitcher was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 11th round of the 2016 draft out of high school.
During Thompson's final season at Kentucky he tallied a 6-1 win/loss record and an earned run average of 2.40. He did so across 90 innings of work in 14 starts.
The Cardinals liked what they saw of the junior Wildcat as they prepared for the '19 draft.
"You saw someone who competes and performs in one of the best baseball conferences, the SEC," scouting director Randy Flores said. "Our scouts loved that he was playing for a team that wasn't exactly an SEC championship caliber team.
"He was their ace. He was going up against good, good lineups, left-handed, competitive as heck, and could spin the ball."
In 2019, he pitched for the Palm Beach Cardinals at the A level. Then, after a COVID-19 ravished season in 2020, Thompson spent time with AAA Memphis in 2021 and 2022. The Cardinals saw enough from him with the Redbirds to bring him up to the majors as a 24-year-old.
Thompson discussed that feeling of getting to debut for St. Louis and what it meant to get that opportunity.
"It's a blessing. It's a dream come true," Thompson said. "I don't know if debuting really set in until a couple of months later. You get caught in the day-to-day and you get to live out your dream. It's really exciting."
In his debut, he appeared against his favorite childhood team, the Cubs. He entered during the sixth inning of a lopsided game in favor of the Cardinals. Thompson finished the game and earned a four-inning save to begin his big-league career. This was just his fifth save since entering the collegiate level.
He appeared in 22 games at the MLB level last year and started once. Thompson sported a 2.08 ERA and allowed just 20 hits over 34 2/3 innings for St. Louis. He also had a WHIP below 1 (0.98).
Of those 22 appearances, Thompson held the opposition scoreless in 17 of them; he didn't allow an earned run in 18 outings.
Thompson joined the big-league club in June of last year and then appeared in at least one game in July, August, September and October. He made one trip back down to the minors at the end of July before rejoining the Cardinals at the end of August.
Manager Oliver Marmol used Thompson with various days of rest. There were times the young pitcher was used in back-to-back games and times that he saw as many as six days of rest between usage.
Thompson looks to build on last year's success as he prepares for the 2023 campaign.
Looking back, from growing up being a Cubs fan in Indiana to now being a MLB-caliber pitcher for the Cardinals, it's what he'd always hoped for — to be a major league baseball player.
"It's hard to let it sink in sometimes I guess," Thompson said. "You're doing your job, you're doing what you love. I've always wanted to be a baseball player. I've always wanted to be a big leaguer. To be here now, it's really exciting."
