There may not be an organization that understands pitching right now better than the Marlins, whose gallery of unlikely successes includes Pablo Lopez, Trevor Rogers and even Zac Gallen (who landed them Jazz Chisholm), with several more yet to break through.
But if Zach Thompson continues down this path, he may well be their magnum opus. The 27-year-old had spent his entire career in the minors, most recently as a reliever, and it hadn't gone well. In 2019, he had a 5.23 ERA. In eight appearances for Triple-A Jacksonville this year, he had a 6.60 ERA. His breakout, if legitimate, would be among the unlikeliest I've ever seen.
Which makes it a big "if," of course. One great outing against the Nationals does not a career make. But it's not just one outing, is it? His previous one at the Cubs, in which he allowed no hits with seven strikeouts in four innings, also raised eyebrows.
And then there's the aesthetic of it. Just look at how uncomfortable the Nationals are on these swings:
In all, Thompson had 16 swinging strikes, including five on a high-spin fastball and six on a curveball. His most-thrown pitch was actually a cutter, though, coming in at an intermediate velocity that seemed to maximize the impact of the other two pitches. The Nationals clearly couldn't tell what was coming, and it seems like the Cubs didn't either.
"I think he did a decent job of going from cutter to curveball," Nationals first baseman Josh Bell said. "Pretty similar locations on where he started those pitches, and then the curveball would just drop out of the zone. I feel like he wasn't afraid to use his second and third pitch in any count, which makes guys deceptive."
Maybe the league catches up to Thompson. The odds favor it, in fact. But isn't there a chance he's one of those pitchers who fits better as a starter because it allows him to make full use of his arsenal? The Marlins might understand pitching better than any other organization right now, remember, and it's their minor-league pitching coordinator, Scott Aldred, who first identified Thompson as a candidate for the rotation.
"We slowly lengthened out Thompson to provide innings, with an eventual move to the rotation in mind," director of pro scouting Hadi Raad said about the right-hander's transition. "Scott saw that he had the pure stuff and strike-throwing capability to start."
I'm intrigued enough to take a flier on Thompson in the 80 percent of CBS Sports leagues where he's still available, but here's who else you might be able to grab off the waiver wire ...
- We talk Tarik Skubal, whether to add Zach Thompson or Kyle Muller, plus Keston Hiura and Phillies, Tigers and Reds bullpens on the Fantasy Baseball Today in 5 podcast. You can follow us to get the latest episodes on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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June 28, 2021 at 08:23PM
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Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: Tarik Skubal, Zach Thompson and Kyle Muller all make an impression - CBS Sports
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