The twenty-second-ranked prospect on this list is former second-rounder Matthew Thompson. Most people may be familiar with him from the draft process, as The White Sox took him out of Cypress Ranch High School in Texas as an over-slot pick, as he showed to have first-round talent.
His career did not start off the way he wanted it to, as his first full season in the minors resulted in a 5.90 ERA in Low-A Kannapolis. He would pitch 71 innings that year, giving up 83 hits and walking 38. He would strike out 77 batters though, showcasing some very solid stuff. Other than that, it was a rough season, as he had a 1.6 WHIP and batters hit .296 against him. That 2021 season was one to forget, but it was his first, so there was reason to expect that he might struggle coming right out of high school.
The 2022 season was a bit better, as he pitched 109 innings to the tune of 4.84 ERA baseball. He still gave up 108 hits and 40 walks while striking out 104. He clearly has the strikeout stuff but has been getting hit pretty hard. The opponent’s average dropped down to .260 and the WHIP was down to 1.3, but he still had a long way to go for the numbers to be truly elite and to live up to his draft position. He would get promoted to AA later in the season, but it was more of just a preview for this season, as he would start in Birmingham.
This season did not start off well, but towards the end, he started to get some momentum. This was an important season for him, as after this year he is Rule-5 eligible, so he has to be added to the 40-man roster, otherwise, a team could select him, and the White Sox would lose him. In 124 innings, he would pitch to a 4.85 ERA, giving up 110 hits, but walking 85 batters. That would explain the elevated 1.57 WHIP. His opponent's average would be his best yet, as it went down to .232. A very interesting season for Thompson, as he had his best strikeout numbers, striking out 136, and his best opponent average. What really killed him was the walks, as he doubled his output in just 15 more innings from last season.
Thompson is a very interesting prospect, as he has fallen down the White Sox prospect list in each of the last years. He has a great fastball and curveball, but he hasn’t quite been able to put it all together quite yet. If he gets added to the 40-man roster in the offseason, they will look to fix the control issues that surfaced last year. If he can get to the first season level of walks combined with this last year’s opponent average, he could be a solid piece.
This offseason will be his biggest yet, but I would grade his season as a C. If he can get his walks under control then he could be an interesting prospect and someone who could compete for a bullpen spot in Spring Training. I hope he can get it all figured out because he is very talented and definitely has major-league stuff.
