Bubba Thompson

Leslie A. "Bubba" Thompson (born June 9, 1998) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Texas Rangers organization.

Bubba Thompson
Texas Rangers
Outfielder
Born: (1998-06-09) June 9, 1998
Jacksonville, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Career

Thompson attended McGill–Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile, Alabama. He played baseball and American football in high school.[1] As a junior in baseball, he hit .469 with 19 stolen bases.[2] During his senior year in football, he led his team to the Class 7A state title game, and passed for 3,173 yards and 38 touchdowns.[2]

He originally committed to Auburn University to play college baseball, but changed his commitment to the University of Alabama in February 2017.[3][4][5] A three-star football recruit, he also received offers to play college football from the University of Tennessee and the University of Mississippi.[6][7]

Thompson was considered one of the top prospects for the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[8][9] He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the first round of the draft.[10]

Thompson officially signed with the Rangers a few days after the draft[11] and was assigned to the AZL Rangers, where he spent the whole season, posting a .257 batting average with three home runs and 12 RBIs in thirty games.[12] He spent 2018 with the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League, where he slashed .289/.344/.446 with eight home runs, 42 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases.[13]

Thompson was ranked as the #48 overall prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus in their preseason 2019 Top 101 list.[14] Thompson was ranked as the #108 overall prospect in baseball by Fangraphs in their preseason 2019 Top 130 list.[15]

Thompson was assigned to the Down East Wood Ducks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League for the 2019 season.[16][17] He was placed on the injured list on April 17, after suffering a fractured hamate bone in his left hand.[18] He finished an injury marred season hitting .178/.261/.312/.573 with five home runs and 21 RBIs in 57 games.[19] Thompson played in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros following the 2019 season,[20][21] and was named a Fall League All-Star.[22]

References
  1. Ben Thomas (July 28, 2016). "McGill-Toolen's multi-talented Bubba Thompson could have future in baseball, football or both". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. Tim Whelan Jr. (February 7, 2017). "Two-sport star Bubba Thompson commits to Alabama to play baseball". USA Today. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  3. Ben Thomas (November 23, 2016). "McGill-Toolen QB Bubba Thompson de-commits from Auburn baseball, wants to play 2 sports". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  4. Ben Thomas (February 7, 2017). "McGill-Toolen two-sport star Bubba Thompson picks baseball, will sign with Alabama". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  5. David Johnson (November 24, 2016). "Ole Miss QB Target De-Commits From Auburn Baseball". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  6. Ryan Callahan (November 23, 2016). "Tennessee Vols QB target Bubba Thompson decommits from Auburn baseball". 247Sports.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  7. Ben Thomas (October 18, 2016). "Auburn baseball commit Bubba Thompson receives 1st SEC football offer". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  8. Ben Thomas (May 2, 2017). "Bama baseball signee Bubba Thompson has 'star upside,' could be picked in 1st round of MLB Draft". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  9. MLB Pipeline. "MLB.com 2017 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  10. T.R. Sullivan (June 12, 2017). "Rangers draft Bubba Thompson with first pick". MLB.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  11. Ben Thomas (June 16, 2017). "Former McGill-Toolen star Bubba Thompson officially signs with Texas Rangers". AL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  12. "Bubba Thompson Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  13. "Bubba Thompson Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  14. BP Prospect Staff (January 23, 2019). "2019 Prospects: The Top 101". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  15. Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel (February 13, 2019). "2019 Top 100 Prospects". Fangraphs. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  16. Jordan Honeycutt (April 3, 2019). "Bubba Thompson, a fresh face for Wood Ducks". Jacksonville Daily News. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  17. Matt Present (March 27, 2019). "Wood Ducks Announce 2019 Roster". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  18. Evan Grant (April 17, 2019). "Rangers prospect Bubba Thompson out four weeks with fractured hamate bone". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  19. Jamey Newberg (September 12, 2019). "Long-term looks: Three high-upside Rangers outfield prospects on the horizon". The Athletic. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  20. Matt Present (April 28, 2019). "Three Wood Ducks to Compete in Arizona Fall League". MiLB.com. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  21. Jim Callis (September 30, 2019). "No. 8 prospect seeks rhythm in AFL after injuries". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  22. Jonathan Mayo (October 8, 2019). "Here are Saturday's Fall Stars Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
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