The St. Louis Cardinals have signed their first round draft pick (19th overall) in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft, left-handed pitcher Zack Thompson, out of the University of Kentucky.
Thompson, 21, arrived at Busch Stadium today to sign his contract, meet with Assistant General Manager and Director of Scouting, Randy Flores, members of the St. Louis Cardinals front office staff and also took a tour of Busch Stadium and the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
The Selma, Ind., native stands 6-foot-2, 220 lbs., and attended Wapahani High School before moving on to the Bluegrass State for college.
Over the course of his junior season, Thompson posted a 6-1 record with a 2.40 ERA while striking out 130 batters over 90.0 innings pitched. He tied for second in the Southeastern Conference in strikeouts while ranking tied for eighth in NCAA Division 1. His 13.00 strikeouts/nine innings pitched ranked 10th in the nation.
The lefty utilizes a four-pitch arsenal of fastball, slider, change-up and curve. Over his three-year career with the Wildcats, Thompson compiled a 16-5 record with a 3.20 ERA with 268 strikeouts in 196.2 innings.
Among his accolades during the 2019 season were Second Team All-SEC, Second Team Collegiate Baseball All-American, Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist and Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist.
Thompson will first report to Jupiter, Fla., where he will receive his affiliation assignment to begin his professional career and 2019 minor league season.
