Marlins make a move

The Marlins traded LHP Aaron Thompson(below) for 1B Nick Johnson. Good deal. While I like Thompson, it's a move the Marlins had to make right now. Bat Nick Johnson second, move Cantu to 3B and make Bonifacio the utility man. I can dig that.

Aaron Thompson continues his late season surge in JAX

Aaron Thompson continued his strong summer campaign in Jacksonville Tuesday night in an 11-4 win over Birmingham. He went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 9 hits, while walking none and striking out 3. Is one mistake of the night was a 2 strike, 2 out hanger to LF David Cook who deposited the ball over the right field wall for a 2 run homerun.

In his last 10 starts, Thompson is 3-2 with a 3.28era in 60.1 innings of work. He has given up 22 earned runs on 55 hits, while walking 20 and striking out 41. Opposing batters are hitting just .234 off of him during this run of solid outings. The strikeouts still aren't ideal, but he's definitely missing some bats. This continues to raise the question if Thompson is eventually going to move to the bullpen, or will he continue being a starter?

Thompson was taken with the 22nd overall pick in the 2005 draft by the Marlins. He was awarded with a $1.225mil bonus. Most believed he would be a tough sign because he had committed to Texas A&M early on, but things changed once the Aggies fired their coaching staff, and Aaron then signed with the Fish. After struggling in his first couple of professional outings, he came back strong in his Jamestown campaign with a 3.10era in just over 20 innings. The 6'3 left-hander spent the 2006 season at low-A Greensboro and showed much promise in what is considered a hitter friendly league. Thompson went 8-8 with a 3.63era and a 1.30whip in 134 innings of work. The longball was a bit of a problem as he gave up 12, but he did strikeout 114 compared to just 35 walks. 2007 was a minor breakout for him. Aaron battled with shoulder tendonitis early on but still went 4-6 with a 3.37era and a 1.36whip in 115 innings of work in high-A Jupiter. He gave up just 2 homeruns, while walking 35 and striking out 84. What was most impressive from his 2007 performance was his consistency from month to month. Besides June where he had a 4.05era, his era in every other month was 3.67 or better.

Thompson took a major step backwards in 2008 while in Carolina. He dealt with injuries much of the year and when he was healthy he showed little command. His strikeouts plummeted and he gave up well over a hit per inning. Like many finesse left-handers, Thompson has garnered plenty of comparisons to Tom Glavine. Thompson’s fastball sits at 89-91mph and his three secondary pitches, changeup, curveball and slider, are all solid. His curveball has the most potential out of those pitches. All four of his pitches have the potential to be (or are already) plus pitches. Aaron has shown good poise, savvy and competitiveness on the mound. He also showed a much improved pick-off move at first base, and was good at holding runners. He has a projectile frame, and should add strength and muscle in the near future. With this added strength, his pitches should have improved velocity as well.

Most would say that Thompson is near his ceiling as a #3 or 4 starter. I believe with the improvement of all four of his pitches, his ceiling is much closer to being a #2 than in being a #4. He's about as developed as much as a 22 year old can be and has done well in his second season in the Southern League. Heading into August, he's 5-9 with a 4.11era, .268baa in 114 innings. Lefties are hitting just .209 against him. With just a few starts left before the season ends, it will be interesting to see if Thompson's arm tires out or if he can finish strong.

May 20th Daily Wrap

Jacksonville beats Carolina, 5-2

• Lorenzo Scott: 3/5 r 2b rbi k sb(6)
• Andy Jenkins: 1/4 sb(3)
• Lee Mitchell: 0/4 r
• Bryan Petersen: 0/4
• Scott Cousins: 0/4 r
• Brad Davis: 1/4 r 2b rbi
• Aaron Thompson: (W, 2-5) 6ip 7h 2r(2er) 2bb 3k hr
• Ronald Hil: 2ip 1h 0r bb k
• Matt Peterson: (S,8) 1ip 0h 0r bb 0k
  

Jupiter beats Sarasota, 3-2 in Game 1 of a DH

• Greg Burns: 1/3 3b 2rbi k
• Hunter Mense 2/3 r
  
• Michael Stanton: 1/2 2b rbi bb
• Matt Dominguez: 0/3
• Ryan Curry: 2/3 r
  
• Jameson Smith: 1/2 r bb
• Elih Villanueva: (W, 3-4) 5ip 7h 1r(1er) 0bb 3k
• Kyle Gunderson: (S,3) 2ip 2h 1r(1er) 0bb 0k
  

They lose game 2, 4-2

• Greg Burns: 1/4 k
• Hunter Mense: 1/4 po
  
• Michael Stanton: 1/3 r bb k
• Matt Dominguez: 1/3 2rbi
• Miguel Fermin: 1/3
• Ryan Curry: 2/3 r 2b sb(2)
• Kris Harvey: 3ip 1h 0r 0bb k
• Steven Cishek: (L, 1-2) 2.1ip 3h 3r(1er) 0bb 3k
• Andrew Battisto: 1.2ip 2h 1r(0er) 0bb 4k
  

Greensboro loses 5-1 to Lake County

• Kevin Mattison: 1/4 sb(12) po
  
• Dan Pertusati: 0/4
• Jake Smolinski: 0/4 k
• Ben Lasater: 2/3 bb
• Jeremy Synan: 1/4
• Kyle Skipworth: 0/3 k
• Justin Jacobs: 1/2 r bb sb(3)
  
• Torre Langley: 0/3 k
• Joel Staples: 1/3 rbi
• Brad Hand: (L, 2-4) 6ip 6h 4r(2er) 0bb 4k hr
• Andy Loomis: 2ip 3h 1r(1er) 0bb 0k
• Jared Yecker: 1ip 1h 0r 0bb 0k

PCL had the night off

11. Aaron Thompson

11. Aaron Thompson - LHP - 6'3 - 195lbs
(last year: 3)

Aaron Thompson was taken with the 22nd overall pick in the 2005 draft by the Marlins. He was awarded with a $1.225mil bonus. Most believed he would be a tough sign because he had committed to Texas A&M early on, but things changed once the Aggies fired their coaching staff, and Aaron then signed with the Fish. After struggling in his first couple of professional outings, he came back strong in his Jamestown campaign with a 3.10era in just over 20 innings. The 6'3 left-hander spent the 2006 season at low-A Greensboro and showed much promise in what is considered a hitter friendly league. Thompson went 8-8 with a 3.63era and a 1.30whip in 134 innings of work. The longball was a bit of a problem as he gave up 12, but he did strikeout 114 compared to just 35 walks. 2007 was a minor breakout for him. Aaron battled with shoulder tendonitis early on but still went 4-6 with a 3.37era and a 1.36whip in 115 innings of work in high-A Jupiter. He gave up just 2 homeruns, while walking 35 and striking out 84. What was most impressive from his 2007 performance was his consistency from month to month. Besides June where he had a 4.05era, his era in every other month was 3.67 or better.

Thompson took a major step backwards in 2008 while in Carolina. He dealt with injuries much of the year and when he was healthy he showed little command. His strikeouts plummeted and he gave up well over a hit per inning. Like many finesse left-handers, Thompson has garnered plenty of comparisons to Tom Glavine. Thompson’s fastball sits at 89-91mph and his three secondary pitches, changeup, curveball and slider, are all solid. His curveball has the most potential out of those pitches. All four of his pitches have the potential to be (or are already) plus pitches. Aaron has shown good poise, savvy and competitiveness on the mound. He also showed a much improved pick-off move at first base, and was good at holding runners. He has a projectile frame, and should add strength and muscle in the near future. With this added strength, his pitches should have improved velocity as well.

Most would say that Thompson is near his ceiling as a #3 or 4 starter. I believe with the improvement of all four of his pitches, his ceiling is much closer to being a #2 than in being a #4. He's about as developed as much as a 21 year old can be and he will spend much, if not all of the 2009 season in Triple A New Orleans. This is an important season for Aaron has he needs to rebound of a terrible 2008. If he can turn things around, he could have a shot at a starting rotation spot in 2010. If he continues to struggle, he could end up in the bullpen sooner than later.