Detroit Tigers Prospect Jake Thompson Assigned To West Michigan Whitecaps

Jake Thompson, the Detroit Tigers’ top draft pick from a year ago (2nd round, 91st overall) didn’t surface on a minor league roster when the full-season leagues broke camp at the beginning of April. The common thought was that the 19 year-old right-handed pitcher would join the starting rotation in West Michigan, but he remained in extended spring training for (mostly) all of April and May.

Thompson was shut down before the end of the minor league season last year, so there was chatter about an injury or perhaps general fatigue. But whatever the case, the Tigers remained relatively tight lipped about why he was held in extended spring training so long. But, whether there was an injury or not, Thompson has now surfaced on a minor league roster. His named appeared yesterday in the Midwest League transaction logs as having been assigned to the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Thompson pitched well in his debut season last year after the draft, posting a 1.91 ERA in 28.1 innings (9.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9) in Rookie Ball in the Gulf Coast League. He entered the year as Motor City Bengals’ #5 organizational prospect.

Thompson joins Austin Schotts, Danry Vasquez, and David Gonzalez as the fourth teenager on the Whitecaps’ roster.