• Full name Justice Thompson
  • Born 07/08/2000 in Tampa, FL
  • Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: R / Throws: R
  • School North Carolina
  • Drafted in the 6th round (180th overall) by the Cincinnati Reds in 2021 (signed for $250,000).
    View Draft Report
    There were a few teams who were interested in Thompson a year ago out of Northwest Florida JC, where he hit .337 and homered five times. A year later, Thompson was one of the bigger helium players early in the college season, particularly after a number of national evaluators saw him go 6-for-10 against Virginia Tech. Thompson possesses an exciting power/speed combination in a 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame. He does have exciting tools, with double-plus running ability, solid raw power and plus defensive ability in center field. He was a solid performer in his first season in the ACC, hitting .304/.386/.444 with seven homers and 15 stolen bases in 17 tries (88%) but he has some pure hit tool questions. Thompson has long levers, which means his bat path can get lengthy at times and pitchers can find holes to expose, and he also shows issues with pitch recognition and doesn’t always have the discipline to stay within the strike zone. Some scouts don’t like his late start to the swing and think his bat can get in and out of the zone too quickly. Thompson struck out at a 27% rate over 54 games and particularly struggled with breaking stuff and offspeed offerings. Given all of that, there are scouts who think he’s going to have to be an ambush hitter at the next level. There is plenty of bat speed in the tank, so if he can improve his pitch recognition and clean up the swing, he has exciting upside given his running ability and exciting athleticism that translate to impressive highlight-reel defensive plays in center field.

Top Rankings

Draft Prospects

Scouting Reports

Career Transactions

  • Dayton Dragons activated OF Justice Thompson from the 7-day injured list.
  • OF Justice Thompson and assigned to Cincinnati Reds.

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