The Cardinals announced a series of roster moves Friday, most notably selecting the contract of 2019 first-rounder Zack Thompson, who’ll join the pitching staff with the Cards slated to play four games in the next three days. Infielder Kramer Robertson was designated for assignment in a corresponding 40-man roster move. The Cards also optioned lefty Matthew Liberatore and right-hander Kodi Whitley to Triple-A Memphis and recalled righty Johan Oviedo from Memphis. Furthermore, the Cardinals announced that outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson will begin minor league rehab assignments — O’Neill in Triple-A and Carlson in Double-A.
Thompson, 24, was the 19th overall pick in 2019 and has ranked among the Cardinals’ best pitching prospects since being selected that day. He’s not as highly touted as Liberatore, who was just optioned out, but ranks 15th in their system at Baseball America and ninth at MLB.com. The lefty saw his stock drop in 2021, when he posted an ERA just north of 7.00 and walked 12.8% of his opponents in Triple-A. However, that came after an aggressive jump from Class-A Advanced, where he’d thrown just 13 1/3 innings, and on the heels of a year-long layoff from pitching in a game setting due to the canceled 2020 minor league season.
Thompson has gotten out to a much better start in 2022. He’s still far from dominant in Triple-A but has worked to a 4.67 ERA in a hitter-friendly setting while sporting dramatically improved K-BB numbers. His strikeout rate is up from 18.5% in 2021 to 30.1% in 2022, while that 12.8% walk rate has been curbed to a very solid 8.1%. He’s induced grounders at a 44% clip — very slightly above the MLB 43.1% average — which should pair nicely with the Cardinals’ elite infield defense.
Scouting reports on Thompson note that his velocity took a step back in early 2021, though BA notes that it improved over the season. At his best, Thompson sits in the low 90s but can reach back to dial it up as high as 97 mph on the radar gun, and both BA and MLB.com tout his plus curveball and its elite spin rate. If he’s back on track in terms of velocity, there’s a chance for Thompson to eventually settle in as a mid-rotation starter in St. Louis, where the team’s overall defensive mastery can help to boost any pitcher’s raw run-prevention numbers.
Injuries to Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz have thinned out the St. Louis rotation at the moment, so Thompson could parlay this first big league look into a more prominent opportunity if he impresses early on. Looking forward, Adam Wainwright is only on a one-year deal, and it’s not clear what the future holds for him. Thompson and Liberatore could be vying for permanent rotation spots alongside Flaherty, Matz, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas before long, now that both have reached the Majors for the first time.
From a service time vantage point, Thompson’s promotion comes far too late in the season for him to accumulate the service time needed to reach a full year in 2022. As such, the earliest he could potentially reach free agency would be after the 2028 season. If he sticks in the big leagues from here onward, he’d likely reach Super Two status and be arbitration-eligible four times rather than three, but one look at the manner in which Liberatore has already been shuttled back and forth a few times suggests that Thompson could be handled similarly.
As for the 27-year-old Robertson, he was selected to the 40-man roster back in early May but appeared in just two games before being optioned back to Memphis. Robertson went hitless in his lone plate appearance, though he did pick up an RBI. The 2017 fourth-rounder is a career .242/.367/.396 hitter in 222 Triple-A games and has routinely turned in elite walk rates throughout his minor league tenure. He’s never hit for a high average or displayed much power, however, and he’s been primarily a second baseman and third baseman rather than a shortstop, which curbs his appeal as a utility option. Robertson does have all three minor league option years remaining, so it’s possible another club will look at that and his gaudy OBP marks and see some optionable infield depth.
The Cards will have a week to trade Robertson or attempt to pass him through outright waivers, at which point all 29 other clubs would be able to place a claim.
Big day to be named Thompson
I don’t like the way the Cardinals are using Jake Woodford. He has been sent to the minors several times this season. Why? The manager said he needed to work on his slider. He should have a roster spot in the bullpen by now. I rather have him than Kodi Whitley that he has been walking a lot of hitters. Also, Woodford gives multiple innings from the bullpen or he could be a starting pitcher.
It’s been part of their “game plan” the past couple of seasons….they have a revolving door of minor leaguers and it’s due to them having options left and no limit on calling up / sending down in a season. Dont get me wrong, I think they are doing a few of these players an injustice. The flip side is, they can wear out a pitcher, send him down for 10 days while another takes his spot….after the 10 days chances are he will be on the move again….if a reliever is reliable they should keep them in MLB until a send down is warranted. But, I’m not calling the shots.
You have to keep fresh arms in the bullpen and he has options. Not everyone does. So they have used him perfectly!
I’d like to see Alec Burleson get called up while also giving Dickerson his release. He’s having a great season in AAA and Dickerson hasn’t done much of anything anytime he’s in the lineup.
Same here Willie. Burleson is a LH outfielder and doesn’t strike out as much as the other AAA options.
WillieMaysHayes24- I don’t agree with this. We cannot call every prospects to the majors because they are performing well in the minors. This is not a team that’s rebuilding. We already called several players this season. Burleson still needs more time in the minors to develop well. Dickerson is not playing well to me because he is not getting regular at bats. If he was playing each day, I think he will be playing better.
He must’ve read my comment, hit his first 2 homers of the season today! Ha!
WillieMaysHayes24- Maybe.
And what do they do with Burleson when Carlson and O’Neill return in the next 10 days?
belkiolle- they can DFA Dickerson, McFarland, etc. They have options but they don’t need to start Burleson’s service clock yet. I suspect he will be a September call up or we’ll see him in ST next year. It’s good to have depth
Lol DeJong survives.
The contract plays even in AAA.
DeJong is hitting very well since May 19th when he eliminated the hand hitch he’d picked up last season from his swing.
May 19 to present:
.276/.358/.462/.820, 4 HRs, 14 RBIs, 14 Rs, 20.8% Ks, 11.9% BB
This is encouraging news!
Why Thompson > Liberatore? Would think ML the more finished product.
They need a fresh arm and Liberatore just pitched yesterday four innings
Kodi Whitley is a mess. I don’t know what happened to that guy, but he used to be an aggressive strike thrower. He looks hopeless on the mound right now. I hope he gets it figured out.
Liberatore didn’t look great yesterday. He had real problems spotting his fastball. The raw stuff was apparent, but Major League hitters will feast on a guy who has to constantly throw “just get it over” fastballs to avoid walks.
Whitley looked great last year and is just not the same this year. Injury or maybe confidence since he’s been constantly shuttled back and forth to triple A? I still would rather have Whitley over McFarland right now, even though they are opposite handed. Shoot go pick up oli perez, I think he’s still out there. Between McFarland, Wittgren and whitley, the bullpens a mess. Maybe call up thomas as that second lefty, and dfa McFarland. Also, dfa fricking Dickerson and bring up Burleson. What’s the major malfunction with getting rid of Dickerson? And he’s in the lineup, again!
Didn’t they just release McFarland today?
Did they and I missed it?
Pretty sure he was throwing in the bullpen during the 9th inning today.
Did the Pirates think they were getting this Zach Thompson when they traded for theirs?
Definitely will make for a great upcoming pitching duel. Zach with an H vs Zack with a K…
Who else is looking forward to a Cardinals/Pirates game when Zack Thompson and Zach Thompson square off against each other?
I read somewhere (MLB I think) the Cards are planning to use Thompson out of the pen.
Yes. He’s pitching right now for the Cards in the 6th inning.
Kramer was DFA’d for constantly suggesting they turn the dugout into “levels!”
I’d be surprised if Kramer doesn’t get claimed. There are about 10-12 teams who can use this kid.