SAN DIEGO — Another piece in the Phillies' rebuild will arrive in the major leagues when Jake Thompson pitches against the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.
In a notable piece of trivia, Thompson will become the 2,000th player to don a Phillies uniform in franchise history.
Of more importance, he will become the fifth young starter to join the rotation in roughly the last year, joining Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin and Aaron Nola, who is currently on the disabled list but remains a huge part of the team’s future.
Thompson, 22, came to Phillies a year ago in the trade that sent Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman to the Texas Rangers. The haul in that trade vaulted the Phillies’ farm system from the bottom third in baseball to the top third in the opinion of those (Baseball America and others) who rate farm systems. Eickhoff came in that deal. He has been one of the Phils’ most consistent starters this season and has a bright future. Hard-hitting outfielder Nick Williams, also in the deal, is just a phone call away in Triple A and power-armed bat/catcher Jorge Alfaro, another player in the deal who is currently at Double A, projects as the team’s catcher of the future and should be knocking on the door in a year.
The deal, engineered by former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and his staff, has the potential to be a franchise changer.
“I sure hope it is,” Thompson said Friday afternoon. “There’s a lot of different things that can happen. But looking at the talent they got back in it, they got a lot of young, talented guys. Hopefully everybody makes it up and sticks and has a long, successful career.”
Thompson took an interesting route to the majors. He was a second-round draft choice of the Detroit Tigers in 2012 and was traded twice before arriving in the Phillies’ clubhouse Friday and pulling on jersey No. 44.
Thompson has done some maturing as a pitcher since joining the Phillies organization a year ago and shining at Double A and Triple A. He was encouraged to throw his four-seam fastball (straight and more powerful) during his time in the Texas system. Phillies instructors encouraged him to use his two-seam or sinking fastball more. He still uses his four-seamer and other pitches, but the emphasis on the sinker has led to his getting more quick outs and ground balls.
“I think that plays better,” he said of his focus on the sinker.
Thompson went 11-5 with a 2.50 ERA in 21 starts at Triple A this season. He had a 1.21 ERA in his last 11 starts. He’s been ready for a look in the majors for a few weeks and would have taken Jeremy Hellickson’s spot in the rotation if Hellickson had been traded last week. Hellickson stayed with the Phillies and Thompson stayed in Triple A. Nola’s trip to the disabled list with a sore elbow cleared Thompson’s path to the majors.
“It was pretty awesome,” he said of getting the news of his promotion. “I had a different route than most guys my age to be called up after having been traded a couple of times. I made a few different stops. But, yeah, it was a really satisfying moment for me.”
Thompson’s parents have made the trip from Dallas and will be in the stands when their son pitches against the Padres on Saturday night.
“I’ll sleep well [Friday night],” Thompson said. “[Saturday] I might get a little jittery, but it’s still the same game. I have to control the things I can control and keep the ball down in the zone.”
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