Matthew Thompson

Thompson entered the year as the top prep pitcher in Texas and one of the most exciting pitchers in the 2019 class. He jumped onto national radars as an underclassman with big performances on the travel ball circuit thanks to his power fastball, feel to spin the ball and athleticism on the mound. All of those traits still exist for Thompson now, but his stock fell this spring as scouts saw his stuff come and go. His fastball has been 90-96 mph at times, but just as often he has thrown more in the 88-92 mph range, which concerned scouts who were already looking for him to improve his consistency from outing to outing. Thompson throws a mid-80s slider with sharp, late, two-plane break that’s one of the better sliders in the class. However, the pitch can at times blend into his curveball, which is typically in the upper 70s with more 11-to-5 shape than the horizontal bite of his slider. While Thompson has a fast, whippy arm action out of a high, three-quarter slot, scouts are concerned about his strike-throwing ability. Some teams would specifically point to a wrist wrap that Thompson has in the back of his arm stroke that could limit his control moving forward. While it hasn’t been the best spring for Thompson, he still has a projectable, 6-foot-2, 184-pound frame, excellent feel to spin the ball and natural, high-end athleticism that player development would love to see in an organization. Thompson is committed to Texas A&M.