Zack Thompson

In a season filled with minor controversies and culminating in a rare last-place finish for St. Louis, the Cardinals' mishandling of Thompson might have flown under the radar. He was told to prepare for a relief role at spring training before suddenly being optioned to Triple-A Memphis in early May to stretch out as a starter. He then returned to the majors to fill a bullpen opening in July before ultimately being pressed into starting duties by default following the deadline trades of Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty. Thompson boasts an impressive fastball-curve-cutter arsenal and has been working to improve his changeup, but the 26-year-old southpaw could be faced with an even greater level of job uncertainty in 2024 after the Cards brought in veteran starters Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn over the winter.

The Cardinals drafted Thompson with the 19th overall pick in 2019. Called up in early June of last year, Thompson made a splash right away, becoming the first player in 45 years to pitch four or more innings and record the save in their big-league debut. A starter at Triple-A in 2021, Thompson began his transition to the bullpen over the first couple months of last season and ended up pitching almost exclusively in relief as a rookie (22 appearances, one start). He was fantastic from a run-prevention standpoint, though the underlying numbers were less impressive, in particular a strikeout rate a shade under 20 percent. A lot will be asked of his defense once again in 2023. Expect some giveback and don't bother in a mixed league unless Thompson is getting starts for St. Louis.

Thompson has had quite the baseball journey. He should have been a high draft pick coming out of high school, but concerns about his shoulder and desire for college dropped him to the 11th round. He failed his post-draft physical, went to college and had more medical problems around some quality pitching. He was drafted in the first round of the 2019 draft and casually used out of the bullpen in the lower levels of the minors. His best pitch is a nasty curveball and he also nice slider to go along with his fastball and changeup. If the injury issues are behind him, he is an intriguing draft-and-follow in keeper leagues. It is unlikely he does anything more than September pitching, but a stash for long-term leagues is worthy of consideration here.