Pittsburgh Pirates: Zach Thompson Set to Start Grapefruit League Finale

Tuesday afternoon Zach Thompson will toe the rubber for the Pittsburgh Pirates when they play the Philadelphia Phillies in their 2022 Grapefruit League finale

Spring training started late for all of Major League Baseball. This led to the Grapefruit League season being delayed for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tuesday afternoon the Pirates will finally play their 18th and finale Grapefruit League game as Opening Day looms on Thursday.

Taking the ball for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday afternoon will be Zach Thompson. The 28-year-old Thompson will be looking to shutdown the Philadelphia Phillies in his final tune up for the regular season.

Acquired in the Jacob Stallings trade, Thompson appears to be a lock for the team’s starting rotation. He is coming off a season in which he posted a 3.24 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 8.9% walk rate, and a 21.0% strikeout rate in 75 innings pitched for the Miami Marlins. These 75 innings came across 26 outings, 14 of which were starts.

Starting on Tuesday afternoon would appear to put Thompson in line to start Saturday afternoon in St. Louis. JT Brubaker will pitch the season opener on Thursday afternoon, and Mitch Keller would appear to be in line to start Saturday afternoon. That would put Thompson in line to pitch with normal rest on Sunday afternoon.

In addition to the game between the Pirates and Phillies, Tuesday should be a busy day for the Pirates. There is a good chance there are more roster moves announced as the team works toward setting their 28-man Opening Day roster. This could include decisions on players such as Anthony Alford and Greg Allen potentially landing on the injured list.

First pitch from BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater is scheduled for 12:05 PM ET. You can watch the game on MLB.TV, as well as listening to it both on the MLB At-Bat App as well as 93.7 The Fan and the Pirate Radio Network.