Matthew Thompson

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #30 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record:The White Sox drafted Thompson in the second round in 2019 after a notable high school career, despite some struggles during his senior year, and signed the Texas product to an over-slot bonus of $2.1 million. Four years later, he remains an enigma who flashes the potential for plus stuff but with frustrating inconsistency. Thompson spent all of 2023 at Double-A Birmingham with mixed results, the most glaring being a jump in his walk rate from 3.3 per nine innings in 2022 to 6.15 in 2023.
  
  Scouting Report: Thompson’s above-average fastball flashes plus when he’s on time and throwing the pitch for strikes. It’s a 91-95 mph pitch and touches 97 with tailing life. His best secondary pitch is the power curveball with 1-to-7 shape. It could be above-average or plus with more consistency. He throws his curveball in the 78-81 mph range with good biting action. Thompson’s hard slider/cutter is a relatively new addition. He throws it in the 84-87 mph range and in 2024 he’ll look to make it a distinct slider or cutter. He used his 85-87 mph changeup more often in 2023 but needs to get more confidence in the pitch. Many of Thompson’s issues stem from the effort in his delivery. He’s a short strider and spins off in his finish.
  
  The Future: Thompson was not added to the 40-man roster and was Rule 5 eligible. He went unselected and should spend more time in Double-A during a 2024 season in which he will still be 23 years old.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 45 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #12 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: The White Sox drafted Thompson in the second round after a notable high school career, despite some struggles during his senior year. After a rough first full season in 2021, Thompson flashed the potential that the baseball industry saw during his scholastic years, even with inconsistent results at times in 2022. He began the year with High-A Winston-Salem before finishing at Double-A Birmingham, with his final two starts there among his best of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: The key to Thompson's improvement was in his maturation as a pitcher and his improved confidence in his stuff. While working at the bottom of the zone has been better for him, Thompson does have a 93-97 mph fastball with good carry that generates swings-and-misses up in the zone. The key to Thompson's arsenal is an above-average curveball with 11-to-5 shape, thrown in the 76-80 mph range that flashes plus. His 82-83 mph slider with slurvy break is a newer pitch, added just a year ago, and needs consistency. His fourth pitch is an 86-mph changeup that has a chance to be an average pitch as he throws it more often and adds more feel. Thompson repeated his crossfire delivery more consistently in 2022 and his walk rate fell from 11.4% to 8.2%.
  
  The Future: Thompson is athletic enough to continue the progression he showed in 2022. He'll be just 22 for most of next season and should return to Birmingham to start the year. He projects as a backend starter but could be more with continued improvement.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 50. Control: 50
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #10 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Thompson was a longtime standout on the showcase circuit as a high school underclassman and was drafted by the White Sox in the second round in 2019 even after a disappointing senior year. He signed for an above-slow $2.1 million to forgo a Texas A&M commitment. Thompson joined what was expected to be a dynamic rotation at Low-A Kannapolis with Jared Kelley and Andrew Dalquist in 2021 but, like his rotation-mates, Thompson struggled. He went 2-9, 5.99 in 20 starts between Kannapolis and the Arizona Complex League and was limited to 73.2 innings by a hip flexor strain.
  
  Scouting Report: Thompson is regarded as the best athlete in the White Sox system, but that athleticism doesn’t always translate to his on-field performance. His fastball velocity comes and goes, sometimes sitting 94-96 mph and running as high as 98, then at other times dipping into the 88-89 mph range. His fastball doesn’t have a lot of deception, so batters pick it up easily. His curveball has depth but he struggles to land it for strikes, allowing hitters to sit on his fastball. Thompson also flashes an average changeup and is working to incorporate a slider into his repertoire to give him more of an east-west pitch. Despite his athleticism, Thompson has some stiffness in his delivery and he struggles to repeat it, leading to poor fastball command and fringy control. He is better pitching out of the stretch than the windup.
  
  The Future: Thompson will head to High-A Winston-Salem in 2022 as a starter. His health, inconsistent velocity and command issues point to a future as a reliever.
  
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #6 prospect in 2021
  Fastball: 60. Changeup: 50. Curveball: 60. Control: 45.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Thompson gained recognition in high school as a livearmed pitcher who could pump low-tomid-90s fastballs with relative ease. The White Sox drafted him in the second round in 2019 and signed him for an above-slot $2.1 million. Thompson spent the 2020 season at the team’s alternate training site before finishing at instructional league.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Thompson returned in 2020 in better physical shape and is now regarded as the best athlete in Chicago’s farm system. The organization worked to keep his body in sync throughout his delivery and tried to eliminate a bit of a leg kick in his delivery. Those alterations helped him stay through his pitches better, and the result was a crisper arsenal. Thompson’s fastball now sits 92-95 mph and touches 97 with carry through the strike zone. He’s always shown an advanced feel to spin the ball, and now his curveball is a bona fide plus pitch in the low 80s with better-defined break. His changeup is a clear third pitch but flashes average. Thompson’s whippy arm action limits his control to fringe-average, but he throws enough strikes to project a starter.
  
  THE FUTURE: Thompson is set to move to the Class A levels in 2020. He has mid-rotation upside.
• 
  Ranked Chicago White Sox #5 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Thompson had long been famous on the amateur circuit thanks to a 90-96 mph fastball, feel for spin and high-end athleticism. He showed all those characteristics during his senior season, but not as consistently as scouts would have wanted. Still, the White Sox were convinced that the pitcher they'd seen in previous seasons was the one they were going to get. He signed for $2.1 million instead of heading to Texas A&M.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Though his stuff was up and down in his high school finale, the White Sox saw Thompson when he was throwing 93-96 with carry through the zone. That further reinforced his status in their minds as someone worthy of a high draft pick. He paired the four-seam fastball with a two-seamer in the low 90s that showed strong armside run and sink. Thompson's curveball is a deep breaker that the White Sox believe could get to plus as it develops. His slider—a two-plane breaker in the mid-80s—could get there as well. His breaking balls blend with one another at times, which is common for pitchers coming out of the prep ranks. His changeup is his clear fourth pitch, though it has a chance to get to average if he tweaks the way he delivers the pitch to let his shoulders and arm get all the way through. A wrist wrap left some scouts concerned about his future control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Thompson's stuff, athleticism and projection give him the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter. He's likely to open 2020 in extended spring training before heading to Rookie-level Great Falls.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #48 prospect in 2019 draft
  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.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: The White Sox drafted Thompson in the second round after a notable high school career, despite some struggles during his senior year. After a rough first full season in 2021, Thompson flashed the potential that the baseball industry saw during his scholastic years, even with inconsistent results at times in 2022. He began the year with High-A Winston-Salem before finishing at Double-A Birmingham, with his final two starts there among his best of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: The key to Thompson's improvement was in his maturation as a pitcher and his improved confidence in his stuff. While working at the bottom of the zone has been better for him, Thompson does have a 93-97 mph fastball with good carry that generates swings-and-misses up in the zone. The key to Thompson's arsenal is an above-average curveball with 11-to-5 shape, thrown in the 76-80 mph range that flashes plus. His 82-83 mph slider with slurvy break is a newer pitch, added just a year ago, and needs consistency. His fourth pitch is an 86-mph changeup that has a chance to be an average pitch as he throws it more often and adds more feel. Thompson repeated his crossfire delivery more consistently in 2022 and his walk rate fell from 11.4% to 8.2%.
  
  The Future: Thompson is athletic enough to continue the progression he showed in 2022. He'll be just 22 for most of next season and should return to Birmingham to start the year. He projects as a backend starter but could be more with continued improvement.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 50. Control: 50
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: The White Sox drafted Thompson in the second round after a notable high school career, despite some struggles during his senior year. After a rough first full season in 2021, Thompson flashed the potential that the baseball industry saw during his scholastic years, even with inconsistent results at times in 2022. He began the year with High-A Winston-Salem before finishing at Double-A Birmingham, with his final two starts there among his best of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: The key to Thompson's improvement was in his maturation as a pitcher and his improved confidence in his stuff. While working at the bottom of the zone has been better for him, Thompson does have a 93-97 mph fastball with good carry that generates swings-and-misses up in the zone. The key to Thompson's arsenal is an above-average curveball with 11-to-5 shape, thrown in the 76-80 mph range that flashes plus. His 82-83 mph slider with slurvy break is a newer pitch, added just a year ago, and needs consistency. His fourth pitch is an 86-mph changeup that has a chance to be an average pitch as he throws it more often and adds more feel. Thompson repeated his crossfire delivery more consistently in 2022 and his walk rate fell from 11.4% to 8.2%.
  
  The Future: Thompson is athletic enough to continue the progression he showed in 2022. He'll be just 22 for most of next season and should return to Birmingham to start the year. He projects as a backend starter but could be more with continued improvement.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 50. Control: 50
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  
  Track Record: Thompson was a longtime standout on the showcase circuit as a high school underclassman and was drafted by the White Sox in the second round in 2019 even after a disappointing senior year. He signed for an above-slow $2.1 million to forgo a Texas A&M commitment. Thompson joined what was expected to be a dynamic rotation at Low-A Kannapolis with Jared Kelley and Andrew Dalquist in 2021 but, like his rotation-mates, Thompson struggled. He went 2-9, 5.99 in 20 starts between Kannapolis and the Arizona Complex League and was limited to 73.2 innings by a hip flexor strain.
  
  Scouting Report: Thompson is regarded as the best athlete in the White Sox system, but that athleticism doesn&#39t always translate to his on-field performance. His fastball velocity comes and goes, sometimes sitting 94-96 mph and running as high as 98, then at other times dipping into the 88-89 mph range. His fastball doesn&#39t have a lot of deception, so batters pick it up easily. His curveball has depth but he struggles to land it for strikes, allowing hitters to sit on his fastball. Thompson also flashes an average changeup and is working to incorporate a slider into his repertoire to give him more of an east-west pitch. Despite his athleticism, Thompson has some stiffness in his delivery and he struggles to repeat it, leading to poor fastball command and fringy control. He is better pitching out of the stretch than the windup.
  
  The Future: Thompson will head to High-A Winston-Salem in 2022 as a starter. His health, inconsistent velocity and command issues point to a future as a reliever.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Curveball: 55. Slider: 45. Changeup: 50. Control: 45.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Thompson was a longtime standout on the showcase circuit as a high school underclassman and was drafted by the White Sox in the second round in 2019 even after a disappointing senior year. He signed for an above-slow $2.1 million to forgo a Texas A&M commitment. Thompson joined what was expected to be a dynamic rotation at Low-A Kannapolis with Jared Kelley and Andrew Dalquist in 2021 but, like his rotation-mates, Thompson struggled. He went 2-9, 5.99 in 20 starts between Kannapolis and the Arizona Complex League and was limited to 73.2 innings by a hip flexor strain.
  
  Scouting Report: Thompson is regarded as the best athlete in the White Sox system, but that athleticism doesn’t always translate to his on-field performance. His fastball velocity comes and goes, sometimes sitting 94-96 mph and running as high as 98, then at other times dipping into the 88-89 mph range. His fastball doesn’t have a lot of deception, so batters pick it up easily. His curveball has depth but he struggles to land it for strikes, allowing hitters to sit on his fastball. Thompson also flashes an average changeup and is working to incorporate a slider into his repertoire to give him more of an east-west pitch. Despite his athleticism, Thompson has some stiffness in his delivery and he struggles to repeat it, leading to poor fastball command and fringy control. He is better pitching out of the stretch than the windup.
  
  The Future: Thompson will head to High-A Winston-Salem in 2022 as a starter. His health, inconsistent velocity and command issues point to a future as a reliever.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 60. Changeup: 50. Curveball: 60. Control: 45.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Thompson gained recognition in high school as a livearmed pitcher who could pump low-tomid-90s fastballs with relative ease. The White Sox drafted him in the second round in 2019 and signed him for an above-slot $2.1 million. Thompson spent the 2020 season at the team's alternate training site before finishing at instructional league.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Thompson returned in 2020 in better physical shape and is now regarded as the best athlete in Chicago's farm system. The organization worked to keep his body in sync throughout his delivery and tried to eliminate a bit of a leg kick in his delivery. Those alterations helped him stay through his pitches better, and the result was a crisper arsenal. Thompson's fastball now sits 92-95 mph and touches 97 with carry through the strike zone. He's always shown an advanced feel to spin the ball, and now his curveball is a bona fide plus pitch in the low 80s with better-defined break. His changeup is a clear third pitch but flashes average. Thompson's whippy arm action limits his control to fringe-average, but he throws enough strikes to project a starter.
  
  THE FUTURE: Thompson is set to move to the Class A levels in 2020. He has mid-rotation upside.
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 60. Changeup: 50. Curveball: 60. Control: 45.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Thompson gained recognition in high school as a livearmed pitcher who could pump low-tomid-90s fastballs with relative ease. The White Sox drafted him in the second round in 2019 and signed him for an above-slot $2.1 million. Thompson spent the 2020 season at the team’s alternate training site before finishing at instructional league.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Thompson returned in 2020 in better physical shape and is now regarded as the best athlete in Chicago’s farm system. The organization worked to keep his body in sync throughout his delivery and tried to eliminate a bit of a leg kick in his delivery. Those alterations helped him stay through his pitches better, and the result was a crisper arsenal. Thompson’s fastball now sits 92-95 mph and touches 97 with carry through the strike zone. He’s always shown an advanced feel to spin the ball, and now his curveball is a bona fide plus pitch in the low 80s with better-defined break. His changeup is a clear third pitch but flashes average. Thompson’s whippy arm action limits his control to fringe-average, but he throws enough strikes to project a starter.
  
  THE FUTURE: Thompson is set to move to the Class A levels in 2020. He has mid-rotation upside.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 60. Changeup: 50. Curveball: 60. Control: 45.
  
  TRACK RECORD: Thompson gained recognition in high school as a livearmed pitcher who could pump low-tomid-90s fastballs with relative ease. The White Sox drafted him in the second round in 2019 and signed him for an above-slot $2.1 million. Thompson spent the 2020 season at the team’s alternate training site before finishing at instructional league.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Thompson returned in 2020 in better physical shape and is now regarded as the best athlete in Chicago’s farm system. The organization worked to keep his body in sync throughout his delivery and tried to eliminate a bit of a leg kick in his delivery. Those alterations helped him stay through his pitches better, and the result was a crisper arsenal. Thompson’s fastball now sits 92-95 mph and touches 97 with carry through the strike zone. He’s always shown an advanced feel to spin the ball, and now his curveball is a bona fide plus pitch in the low 80s with better-defined break. His changeup is a clear third pitch but flashes average. Thompson’s whippy arm action limits his control to fringe-average, but he throws enough strikes to project a starter.
  
  THE FUTURE: Thompson is set to move to the Class A levels in 2020. He has mid-rotation upside.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Thompson had long been famous on the amateur circuit thanks to a 90-96 mph fastball, feel for spin and high-end athleticism. He showed all those characteristics during his senior season, but not as consistently as scouts would have wanted. Still, the White Sox were convinced that the pitcher they’d seen in previous seasons was the one they were going to get. He signed for $2.1 million instead of heading to Texas A&M.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Though his stuff was up and down in his high school finale, the White Sox saw Thompson when he was throwing 93-96 with carry through the zone. That further reinforced his status in their minds as someone worthy of a high draft pick. He paired the four-seam fastball with a two-seamer in the low 90s that showed strong armside run and sink. Thompson’s curveball is a deep breaker that the White Sox believe could get to plus as it develops. His slider—a two-plane breaker in the mid-80s—could get there as well. His breaking balls blend with one another at times, which is common for pitchers coming out of the prep ranks. His changeup is his clear fourth pitch, though it has a chance to get to average if he tweaks the way he delivers the pitch to let his shoulders and arm get all the way through. A wrist wrap left some scouts concerned about his future control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Thompson’s stuff, athleticism and projection give him the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter. He’s likely to open 2020 in extended spring training before heading to Rookie-level Great Falls.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Thompson had long been famous on the amateur circuit thanks to a 90-96 mph fastball, feel for spin and high-end athleticism. He showed all those characteristics during his senior season, but not as consistently as scouts would have wanted. Still, the White Sox were convinced that the pitcher they'd seen in previous seasons was the one they were going to get. He signed for $2.1 million instead of heading to Texas A&M.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Though his stuff was up and down in his high school finale, the White Sox saw Thompson when he was throwing 93-96 with carry through the zone. That further reinforced his status in their minds as someone worthy of a high draft pick. He paired the four-seam fastball with a two-seamer in the low 90s that showed strong armside run and sink. Thompson's curveball is a deep breaker that the White Sox believe could get to plus as it develops. His slider—a two-plane breaker in the mid-80s—could get there as well. His breaking balls blend with one another at times, which is common for pitchers coming out of the prep ranks. His changeup is his clear fourth pitch, though it has a chance to get to average if he tweaks the way he delivers the pitch to let his shoulders and arm get all the way through. A wrist wrap left some scouts concerned about his future control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Thompson's stuff, athleticism and projection give him the ceiling of a mid-rotation starter. He's likely to open 2020 in extended spring training before heading to Rookie-level Great Falls.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  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.