Ryan Scott Thompson (born June 26, 1992) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. Thompson is a

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

-style pitcher.

Career

Amateur career

Thompson attended Cascade High School in

Turner, Oregon Turner is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,944 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on February 10, 1905. ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at Chemeketa Community College and

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Christian university in Buies Creek, North Carolina, United States. Campbell's main campus in Buies Creek is home to its College of Arts & Sciences, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Divinity School, Scho ...

. In 2013, he briefly played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Hyannis Harbor Hawks The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

Houston Astros

The

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

selected Thompson in the 23rd round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

. He made his professional debut with the Low-A

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats are a professional baseball team based in Albany, New York. The ValleyCats compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team was established in 2002, along with the ...

, posting a 2.96 ERA in 23 appearances. In 2015, Thompson pitched for the Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits and the High-A

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

, registering a 3.00 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 43 total appearances. The following season, Thompson split the year between Lancaster and the Double-A

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

, recording a 3.35 ERA with 65 strikeouts in another 43 appearances. In 2017, Thompson played for Corpus Christi and the Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

, logging a 4.05 ERA with 61 strikeouts in innings pitched across 37 games. Thompson missed the entire 2018 season due to injury.

Tampa Bay Rays

The

selected Thompson in the minor league phase of the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

on December 13, 2018. Thompson spent the 2019 season with the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs and the Double-A

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

, recording a 2.70 ERA in 16 games between the two teams. Thompson made the Rays'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster in 2020. On July 24, 2020, he made his MLB debut. In his debut campaign, Thompson was 1–2 with one save and a 4.44 ERA. In 2021, Thompson was shut down in late June due to right shoulder inflammation, and was later placed on the 60-day injured list on August 3. On September 24, 2021, it was announced that Thompson would undergo surgery to address

thoracic outlet syndrome Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition in which there is compression of the nerves, arteries, or veins in the superior thoracic aperture, the passageway from the lower neck to the armpit, also known as the thoracic outlet. There are t ...

. He finished the year with a 2.38 ERA in 36 appearances. On June 4, 2022, Thompson, along with four other Rays teammates, opted out of wearing a Rays team logo and cap in support of LGBTQ+ Pride, during the team's annual Pride Night celebration at

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (nicknamed "The Trop") is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" was the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season, 1998 to ...

. In 47 games for the team in 2022, he posted a 3.80 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 3 saves in innings pitched. Thompson made 18 appearances for the Rays in 2023, struggling to a 6.11 ERA with 12 strikeouts in innings pitched. On August 16, 2023, Thompson was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

following the promotion of Héctor Pérez. Thompson was released by the Rays the next day, after clearing waivers.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On August 19, 2023, Thompson signed a minor league contract with the

organization. After two scoreless appearances for the Triple–A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

, the Diamondbacks selected Thompson's contract to the major league roster on August 27.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Ryan 1992 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Oregon Campbell Fighting Camels baseball players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Chemeketa Storm baseball players Corpus Christi Hooks players Durham Bulls players Florida Complex League Rays players Fresno Grizzlies players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball pitchers Montgomery Biscuits players Quad Cities River Bandits players Reno Aces players Tampa Bay Rays players Tri-City ValleyCats players People from Marion County, Oregon