Zach Thompson

Zach Thompson

29-Year-Old PitcherSP
Toronto Blue Jays
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Thompson threw a career-high 121.2 innings in 2022 after being traded from Miami to Pittsburgh in the offseason. His results were volatile, which was predictable given his contact-heavy profile -- he has only an 18.2 percent strikeout rate across 196.2 career innings. Despite managing to hold opponents to a reasonable 6.4 percent barrel rate while inducing a 45.3 percent groundball rate, Thompson served up 1.4 HR/9. Though he stuck in the rotation most of the season, Thompson was forced to the bullpen by mid-August and piggybacked with as assortment of young arms in the organization. Pittsburgh opted to move on from Thompson and sent him to Toronto, and the change in scenery is unlikely to help his chances of seeing regular starts. The righty could make some spot starts, but his likely role with the Blue Jays, assuming he's up with the big club, is likely to be that of a long reliever. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a one-year contract with the Pirates in March of 2022.
Strong outing Thursday
PToronto Blue Jays
March 24, 2023
Thompson gave up a hit and struck out three over 1.2 innings of relief in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.
ANALYSIS
The 29-year-old right-hander put up mediocre numbers with the Pirates last season while being used primarily as a starter, but the Blue Jays will likely deploy him as a long reliever if he breaks camp on the 26-man roster. Thompson has made a solid case for a spot with a 12:3 K:BB through 11.1 innings this spring.
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Pitching Stats
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2022
2021
2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
72
Last 10 Games
62
Last 5 Games
53
How many pitches does Zach Thompson generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Zach Thompson generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-2%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-15%
BAA vs LHP
2021
 
 
-25%
BAA vs RHP
2020
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2020vs Left .258 408 76 42 92 25 3 13
Since 2020vs Right .263 450 80 32 109 17 0 12
2022vs Left .256 256 47 25 58 13 1 10
2022vs Right .301 287 43 21 80 10 0 9
2021vs Left .262 152 29 17 34 12 2 3
2021vs Right .196 163 37 11 29 7 0 3
2020vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2020
 
 
-11%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-22%
ERA on Road
2021
 
 
-10%
ERA at Home
2020
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2020Home 4.68 1.44 105.2 5 10 0 6.9 3.2 1.2
Since 2020Away 4.15 1.35 91.0 1 7 0 7.4 3.7 1.1
2022Home 5.81 1.61 62.0 2 7 0 6.4 3.3 1.6
2022Away 4.53 1.41 59.2 1 3 0 6.9 3.5 1.2
2021Home 3.09 1.19 43.2 3 3 0 7.6 2.9 0.6
2021Away 3.45 1.24 31.1 0 4 0 8.3 4.0 0.9
2020Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Zach Thompson compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
1.96
 
K/9
6.7
 
BB/9
3.4
 
HR/9
1.4
 
Fastball
92.3 mph
 
ERA
5.18
 
WHIP
1.51
 
BABIP
.320
 
GB/FB
1.62
 
Left On Base
68.6%
 
Exit Velocity
82.8 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.7%
 
Spin Rate
2355 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
27.5%
 
Swinging Strike
10.7%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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196 days ago
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2022 Fantasy Outlook
Thompson was a slow mover through both the White Sox and Marlins organizations, though he managed to make his big-league debut as a 27-year-old in 2021. After getting the call in June, Thompson served as a traditional starter for his first 13 games and performed well, posting a 3.16 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .209 batting average and .365 slugging percentage. Despite that success, he was moved to the bullpen for the final month of the season as the Marlins gave looks to higher-upside players such as Jesus Luzardo and Edward Cabrera. The end result was a 3.24 ERA, though his 12.1 K-BB% suggests results that more closely resemble his 4.58 SIERA could be in order. Thompson appeared to be blocked from a rotation role in Miami, though he was dealt to the Pirates in late November and could get another opportunity as a starter as a result.
More Fantasy News
Acquired by Toronto
PToronto Blue Jays
January 10, 2023
Thompson was acquired by the Blue Jays from the Pirates on Tuesday in exchange for Chavez Young.
ANALYSIS
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Designated for assignment
PPittsburgh Pirates
January 5, 2023
Thompson was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Thursday.
ANALYSIS
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Works in relief again
PPittsburgh Pirates
September 14, 2022
Thompson tossed 2.2 innings out of the bullpen in the Pirates' 6-1 win over the Reds in Game 1 of Tuesday's doubleheader. He struck out one and allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk.
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Punches out five
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 31, 2022
Thompson allowed three hits and one walk while striking out five across four scoreless innings Wednesday against the Brewers. He did not factor into the decision.
ANALYSIS
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Re-enters rotation
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 31, 2022
Thompson will start Wednesday's series finale in Milwaukee, Joey Pollizze of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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