Pittsburgh Pirates: Zach Thompson Looking to Continue Strong May

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Zach Thompson has been terrific in the month of May and he will look to continue his strong work on Friday night

When the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Jacob Stallings to the Miami Marlins last November the lone MLB ready piece they received in the trade was right-handed pitcher Zach Thompson. Acquiring Thompson came on the heels of what looked like a breakout season for him.

With Miami last season Thompson pitched in 26 games, making 14 starts. He pitched 75 innings in these 26 outings, posting a 3.24 ERA, 3.69 FIP, 8.9% walk rate and a 21.0% strikeout rate. It appeared that the 28-year-old Thompson could be a late bloomer.

To start the 2022 season Thompson was failing to build off his strong 2021. In his first 4 starts of the season Thompson posted a 10.05 ERA, 6.93 FIP, 11.7% walk rate and just a 15.6% strikeout rate in 14.1 innings pitched. He also allowed 4 home runs which came out to a 2.51 HR/9 rate.

Thompson was hurt by a .365 batting average on balls in play (BAbip) in these starts. An average BAbip is .300, so the higher a pitcher’s BAbip is over .300 the more unlikely it is for their current results to continue.

Well, in the month of May, things have started to turn around for Thompson. He has made a pair of starts to go with a relief outing that was made due to a combination of rain outs and off days leaving Thompson in need of just getting some work in.

During the month of May, Thompson has pitched 12 innings thus far. Thompson has yet to allow a run or an extra base hit this month, while walking 4 batters and striking out 10. During this strong 3 outing stretch Thompson has seen his ground ball rate improve from 44.6% in his first 4 outings to 48.3%. Meanwhile, his line drive rate has dropped from 23.2% to 13.8%, while his hard contact allowed has dropped from 30.4% to 20.0%.

Alex Stumpf of DK on Pittsburgh Sports also did an excellent job breaking down some things that have helped Thompson right the ship in the month of May. These have been highlighted by Thompson throwing his cutter more, which was his best pitch last season, and improving his delivery.

Thompson will take the ball for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. Thompson will look to continue to induce more ground balls, limit hard contact, and use his cutter to continue his strong month of May.