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Jake Thompson

Angels Sign Jacob Barnes, Jake Thompson

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The Angels have inked a pair of former MLB righties to minor-league deals, according to the latest round-up of deals from Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle. Jacob Barnes and Jake Thompson will both be in camp trying to impress the Halos.

Barnes was once seen as a part of the long-term pitching picture in Milwaukee, Barnes is now looking for a bounceback opportunity after a rough 2019 season. Through his first three MLB campaigns, Barnes carried a 3.54 ERA with 153 strikeouts and 62 walks in 147 1/3 innings, all while producing grounders on about half the balls put in play against him.

That’s a pretty appealing overall statistical profile. But Barnes couldn’t keep things going in 2019. He was tagged for 27 earned runs and seven home runs in just 32 2/3 innings, split between the Brewers and Royals. He lost about two ticks of fastball velocity (though still averaged 94 mph) and saw his swinging-strike rate dive from the 13-15% range to 9.3%.

Thompson, who’s still just shy of his 26th birthday, will also be trying to get back on track. The former second-round draft pick washed out with the Phillies and didn’t perform as hoped in 2019 with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, working to a 4.74 ERA in 62 2/3 innings.

Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: KBO Pitcher Roundup

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It’s always fun to keep an eye on familiar players who’ve taken their talents across the pond. Now that the 2019 season is in the books, it seemed an opportune time to check in. Numerous former big leaguers are playing abroad, many of them thriving in Asia’s top leagues.

We’ve seen foreign stints help spur big league revivals from quite a few players. Eric Thames, Miles Mikolas, and Chris Martin are among those that played significant roles in the 2019 MLB campaign. Whether any of the players covered below will do so remains to be seen, but there’s certainly a path.

We started by looking at position players in the Korea Baseball Organization, the top league in South Korea. Remember, teams in the KBO and other leagues face limits on the number of non-native players they can employ. That creates a lot of pressure to secure big production from those roster spots, and often spurs mid-season change.

Now, we’ll check in on KBO’s hurlers. (Statistics courtesy of the always excellent MyKBO.)

  • The LG Twins made out like bandits with Tyler Wilson and Casey Kelly. The former, who once had a three-season run with the Orioles, spun 185 frames of 2.92 ERA ball in his second strong KBO effort. The latter, a former first-round pick and veteran of four MLB campaigns, was even more effective, with a 2.55 ERA in his 180 1/3 innings despite a less-than-impressive 126:41 K/BB ratio.
  • But neither of those hurlers took the foreign hurler ERA crown. That went to Josh Lindblom of the Doosan Bears, who has carved out a prominent career in Korea and was at his finest in 2019. Over 194 2/3 frames, he worked to a 2.50 ERA with 189 strikeouts against just 29 free passes. Doosan’s other out-of-town pitcher, Seth Frankoff (a one-appearance MLB veteran), spun 117 1/3 frames of 3.61 ERA ball.
  • Righty Angel Sanchez pitched great for the SK Wyverns in his second season with the club. The former Pirates hurler sported a 2.62 ERA in 165 innings. Teammate Henry Sosa, a former Astro turned KBO stalwart, threw 94 1/3 frames of 3.82 ERA ball. Another strong combination was formed by the Kiwoom (formerly Nexen) Heroes. Eric Jokisch posted a 3.13 ERA in thirty starts while Jake Brigham went for a 2.96 mark in 28 outings.
  • The Hanwha Eagles also got a nice 1-2 effort from a pair of former (Detroit) Tigers hurlers. Righty Warwick Saupold went for 192 1/3 innings of 3.51 ERA pitching, while southpaw Chad Bell notched a 3.50 ERA in his 177 1/3 frames of work. Another duo — Athletics alum Raul Alcantara and former Red Sox/Tigers hurler William Cuevas — was solid but unexceptional with the KT Wiz. The former worked to a 4.01 ERA while the latter checked in at 3.62 earned per nine.
  • The NC Dinos received strong output from right-hander Drew Rucinski, who was pitching his first season in the KBO after jumping around with several MLB organizations in recent years. He logged 177 1/3 innings of 3.05 ERA ball. Eddie Butler lost his spot with the Dinos after 13 marginal outings, with the club replacing him with fellow former Rockies hurler Christian Friedrich. The new southpaw proved a better fit, working to a 2.75 ERA over 72 frames over a dozen starts after being plucked from the indy ball ranks.
  • The Samsung Lions parted ways with Justin Haley and Deck McGuire after watching them combine for forty starts with more than five earned per nine. Fellow righty Ben Lively was better after he came over, throwing 57 innings with a 3.95 ERA and 58 strikeouts.
  • The KIA Tigers struggled to get consistent results from their foreign hurlers. Former MLB righties Jacob Turner (5.46 ERA in 153 1/3 innings) and Joe Wieland (4.75 ERA in 165 innings) both disappointed.
  • Likewise, Jake Thompson failed to make good on his chance with the Lotte Giants, providing them 62 2/3 innings of 4.74 ERA ball before he was cut loose. Lotte received better work from Brooks Raley (181 innings, 3.88 ERA) and Brock Dykxhoorn (149 1/3 innings, 4.34 ERA).

Tigers Sign Jake Thompson To Minor League Deal

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The Tigers announced Thursday that they’ve signed right-hander Jake Thompson to a minor league contract. The former top prospect was originally a second-round pick by the Tigers back in 2012 and will now return to his original organization.

Detroit traded Thompson and then-prospect Corey Knebel to the Rangers back in 2014, netting righty Joakim Soria for their bullpen in that July 23 swap. Thompson continued on an upward trajectory in the Texas minor league ranks, so much so that he was viewed as a key piece when the Rangers flipped him to the Phillies a year later in the 2015 Cole Hamels blockbuster. (Remember when teams actually made trades in July? Nostalgia!)

Things never really panned out for Thompson in Philadelphia, however. The right-hander pitched in parts of three seasons from 2016-18 but managed a pedestrian 4.87 ERA with 6.3 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9 in 116 1/3 innings. Home runs, in particular, were a struggle for Thompson during his time with the Phillies, as evidenced by a career 1.5 HR/9 mark at the big league level.

Rather than pursue a minor league pact in free agency this winter, Thompson instead opted to sign with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization. There, he posted a 4.74 ERA with 8.6 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 through 62 2/3 innings in the extremely hitter-friendly KBO environment. Lotte cut him loose last month, though, and he’ll now return stateside in attempt to once again pitch at the big league level.

Thompson, still just 25, certainly picked a good organization to give him that opportunity. The Tigers have lost Michael Fulmer, Matt Moore and, quite possibly, Tyson Ross for the season. There’s a chance that Matthew Boyd could be traded in the next six days, and it’s a near-certainty that closer Shane Greene will be on the move. Detroit has numerous vacancies in a patchwork rotation that has struggled all season, and the bullpen offers even more possible opportunities. Thompson hasn’t pitched since being released in late June, so the Tigers assigned him to Class-A Advanced to begin ramping back up. But it’s not unthinkable that if he performs even reasonably well in the minors, he could emerge as a possible big league option at some point in mid August or early September.

Minor MLB Transactions: 6/9/19

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The latest minor moves from around the baseball world…

  • The Mets have outrighted Aaron Altherr to Triple-A, as per MLB.com’s official transactions page.  Altherr was designated for assignment earlier this week, the third different time this season that Altherr has entered DFA limbo.  This was the first time that Altherr’s designation, however, hadn’t resulted in a change of teams, after he went from the Phillies to the Giants, and then from San Francisco to New York on waiver claims.  Now that Altherr seems to be settled at Triple-A for the time being, he can focus on getting his bat on track after posting just a .245 OPS over 42 big league plate appearances this season.
  • The Lotte Giants of South Korea’s KBO League have released right-hander Jake Thompson and claimed righty Brock Dykxhoorn off waivers from the SK Wyverns.  (Hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net)  Thompson was a second-round draft pick for the Phillies in 2012 and was considered a top-100 prospect in all of baseball prior to both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, though he posted only a 4.87 ERA, 6.3 K/9, and 1.33 K/BB rate over 116 1/3 innings for the Phils from 2016-18.  After a brief stint in Milwaukee’s farm system last year, Thompson signed with Lotte last winter and posted a 4.74 ERA over 62 2/3 frames for the KBO side.  Dykxhoorn is also in his first year in South Korean baseball, after delivering a 4.37 ERA over 490 1/3 innings in the Astros’ minor league system after Houston made him a sixth-round pick in the 2014 draft.

Minor MLB Transactions: 12/13/18

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The latest minor moves from around the baseball world…

  • The Red Sox re-signed infielder Tony Renda to a new minor league deal, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  After playing in 32 games for the Reds as a rookie in 2016, Renda didn’t make it back to the majors until this season, when he appeared in a single game for Boston.  The lone appearance was a notable one, as Renda entered the game as a pinch-runner in the 10th inning and scored the winning run in a 5-4 win over the Yankees on August 5.  (Renda even received a World Series ring for his modest contribution to Boston’s championship season.)  After hitting a combined .318/.373/.453 over 292 PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2018, Renda will return to the organization after being outrighted after the season.
  • The Lotte Giants of the KBO League have announced new contracts for left-hander Brooks Raley and right-hander Jake Thompson for the 2019 season. (Hat tip to MyKBO.net’s Dan Kurtz for passing on the news.)  Raley will receive $1.17MM for his fifth season in South Korea, where he has been a solid rotation piece for the Giants.  A former Cubs draft pick, Raley tossed 38 1/3 innings for Chicago in 2012-13 and hasn’t since been back in the big leagues.  Thompson will head to the KBO after being designated for assignment off the Brewers roster last summer and ultimately let go into free agency.  Formerly a well-regarded prospect for the Phillies, Thompson never found much consistency at the MLB level, posting a 4.87 ERA over 116 1/3 frames for Philadelphia from 2016-18.  Thompson will receive $760K in guaranteed salary, with another $140K available in incentive bonuses.

Brewers Designate Aaron Brooks, Jake Thompson

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The Brewers announced tonight that they have designated right-handed pitchers Aaron Brooks and Jake Thompson. Their roster spots went to just-acquired veterans Gio Gonzalez and Curtis Granderson.

Neither of these hurlers has thrown a pitch in the majors for the Brewers. Brooks had just been called up but did not get into a game. He last threw in the bigs in 2015. Thus far in 2018, Brooks has posted a 3.35 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over 99 1/3 innings.

Thompson, meanwhile, had recently been claimed off waivers from the Phillies after struggling in his first thirty games of MLB action over the past three seasons. He had turned in five useful relief appearances since reporting to Colorado Springs, but only owns a cumulative 4.30 ERA and 55:29 K/BB ratio in his 52 1/3 total Triple-A innings this year.

Brewers Acquire Jake Thompson, Designate Alec Asher

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The Brewers have acquired right-hander Jake Thompson from the Phillies in exchange for cash, the Phillies announced Tuesday. Right-hander Alec Asher has been designated for assignment to open roster space, and the Brewers have optioned Thompson to Triple-A, per an announcement of their own.

Thompson, 24, was once considered to be among the game’s best pitching prospects, entering both the 2015 and 2016 season as a consensus Top 100 prospect. Originally a draft pick of the Tigers, he was traded to the Rangers alongside Corey Knebel in exchange for  Joakim Soria and then traded from Texas to Philadelphia in the Cole Hamels blockbuster. In somewhat amusing and ironic fashion, the Brewers now hold all three pieces of that 2014 Tigers/Rangers swap in Knebel, Soria and Thompson.

[Related: Updated Milwaukee Brewers depth chart]

Of course, Thompson hasn’t exactly delivered on his considerable prospect status. He’s tallied 116 1/3 innings at the Major League level across the past three seasons, all with the Phillies, and pitched to a lackluster 4.87 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 1.55 HR/9 and a 46.1 percent ground-ball rate. The Phillies had been using Thompson primarily in a relief role with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, so he could conceivably give Milwaukee some depth either in the rotation or in the bullpen. Thompson has one option year remaining after 2018, so the Brewers will have some flexibility with him in 2019 as well, if he sticks on the 40-man roster for that long.

As if the sequence connecting Knebel, Soria and Thompson wasn’t strange enough, the Brewers are opening room on the roster by designating one of the players alongside whom Thompson was traded from Texas to Philadelphia in that Hamels blockbuster. Both Thompson and Asher went from Texas to Philadelphia in that deal, and Thompson’s addition to the Brewers’ roster will come at the expense of his former teammate.

Asher, 26, has tossed three scoreless innings for the Brewers this season but owns an ugly 5.42 ERA with a 39-to-32 K/BB ratio through 88 innings of Triple-A work between the affiliates for Milwaukee and the Dodgers. That 5.42 mark is a dead match for his career ERA through 119 2/3 Major League innings, the majority of which have come as a member of the Phillies. Milwaukee has a week to trade Asher or try to run him through outright waivers in hopes of retaining him as a non-roster player.

Phillies Designate Jake Thompson

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The Phillies announced this afternoon that they have designated righty Jake Thompson for assignment. His roster spot will go to the just-acquired Justin Bour.

Once a prospect of note, Thompson came to Philadelphia as part of the Cole Hamels swap. He has not yet established himself in the majors, however, despite seeing action in each of the past three seasons.

Thompson has shifted to a relief role this season after almost exclusively working as a starter previously. The former second-rounder owns a 4.87 ERA in 116 1/3 MLB innings with 6.3 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9.

Though his velocity and swinging-strike rate have trended up a bit since the move to the pen, the recent numbers don’t paint a terribly promising picture for the 24-year-old. Thompson has handed out eleven walks in 16 1/3 MLB frames this year and carries a 4.60 ERA in his 47 Triple-A frames.

Phillies Place Luis Garcia On 10-Day DL, Recall Thompson, Rios

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The Phillies have placed right-handed reliever Luis Garcia on the 10-day disabled list. Amidst the shuffle, the club also recalled fellow right-handers Jake Thompson and Yacksel Rios, while optioning another right-hander, Mark Leiter Jr., to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The moves were announced by the club’s media account on Twitter.

Though Garcia enjoyed a significant breakthrough last season by posting a 2.65 ERA to go with an impressive 56.3% ground ball rate last season, he hasn’t managed to build on that so far in 2018. The 31-year-old’s 4.74 ERA through 24 2/3 innings is an eyesore, while that fantastic ground ball rate has also dropped nearly seven points. That’s also with a .279 BABIP taken into consideration, which is well below the league average.

Thompson hasn’t had much opportunity with the Phillies this year, and hasn’t exactly impressed in limited action. The young gun has allowed a whopping seven earned runs in just 8 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Last season, Thompson posted a 3.88 ERA while pitching mostly as a starter, but his 5.92 FIP indicates that he was more than just a bit lucky.

As for Rios, there seems to be some reason for optimism surrounding his potential. His 5.29 ERA is a bit ugly, but he’s managed to limit opposing hard contact to 28.8% in his 17 innings on the year thus far. His 9.53 K/9 is certainly worthy of some attention, while his 3.71 BB/9 is at least passable. Rios has also suffered from a .400 opponent BABIP, a number which is likely to regress to the mean.

Though he made 11 starts for the Phillies last year, Leiter’s pitched exclusively out of the bullpen both in the majors and minors this season. He’s managed to strike out nine batters in eight innings across his four appearances; all four of those appearances saw him retire at least five hitters. Leiter also allowed four earned runs on two walks and eight hits, including two homers.

Tommy Hunter To Open Season On DL

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Phillies righty Tommy Hunter will open the year on the DL after being diagnosed with a hamstring strain, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com was among those to report on Twitter.

It’s not clear at the moment just how long Hunter will be sidelined, but skipper Gabe Kapler says the belief is it isn’t a serious injury, as Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Saying the team is acting “conservatively,” Kapler explained that there are no “long-term concerns” at the moment.

Hunter is expected to play a key role in the Phillies pen after joining the organization on a surprisingly hefty two-year deal over the winter. He was promised $18MM after a strong 2017 season in which he not only worked to a productive 2.61 ERA in 58 2/3 innings but ran up a career-high 9.8 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9.

The early returns have not exactly been exciting, though it’s certainly not worth rushing to any conclusions. Hunter managed only one strikeout and allowed three earned runs in his 4 1/3 Grapefruit League frames.

[RELATED: Updated Phillies Depth Chart]

While the injury to Hunter leaves the Phillies down another arm, after already losing a few hurlers to open the year, it does clear space for Jake Thompson. The younger righty, once considered a promising rotation prospect, had shown some promise in camp. He’ll likely be joined in the bullpen by 23-year-old Victor Arano, who’ll get his first full crack at the majors.

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