Leslie Arnold "Bubba" Thompson (born June 9, 1998) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers. Thompson was drafted by the Rangers with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

Amateur career

Thompson attended

McGill–Toolen Catholic High School McGill–Toolen Catholic High School, founded as the McGill Institute and sometimes called "McT" for short, is a private co-educational high school operated by the educational system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile in Mobile, Alabama ...

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. He played baseball and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

in high school. As a junior in baseball, he hit .469 with 19

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

. During his senior year in football, he led his team to the Class 7A state title game, and passed for 3,173 yards and 38 touchdowns. Thompson was teammates with future NFL wide receiver

Jalen Tolbert Jalen Curtis Tolbert (born February 27, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Alabama and was named the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Playe ...

. He originally committed to

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

, but changed his commitment to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

in February 2017. A three-star football recruit, he also received offers to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

and the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. Thompson was considered one of the top prospects for the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. Thompson was drafted by the Texas Rangers with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the draft.

Professional career

Texas Rangers

Thompson officially signed with the Rangers a few days after the draft and was assigned to the

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is composed ...

, where he spent the whole season, posting a .257 batting average in 113 at bats with three home runs and 12 RBIs in thirty games. He spent 2018 with the Hickory Crawdads of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, where he slashed .289/.344/.446 in 332 at bats with eight home runs, 42 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases in 39 attempts. Thompson was ranked as the #48 overall prospect in baseball by

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

in their preseason 2019 Top 101 list. He was ranked as the #108 overall prospect in baseball by Fangraphs in their preseason 2019 Top 130 list. Thompson was assigned to the Down East Wood Ducks of the High–A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

for the 2019 season. He was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

on April 17, after suffering a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. He finished an injury-marred season hitting .178/.261/.312/.573 in 202 at bats with five home runs and 21 RBIs and 12 steals in 15 attempts in 57 games. Thompson played in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros following the 2019 season, and was named a Fall League All-Star. Thompson did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Thompson spent the 2021 season with the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

of the Double-A Central, hitting .275/.325/.483 in 429 at bats with 16 home runs, 52 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases in 33 attempts. He was named the co-winner of the Rangers' 2021 True Ranger Award, along with Keyber Rodriguez. Thompson opened the 2022 season with the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, hitting .304/.355/.474 in 346 at bats with 13 home runs, 48 RBIs, and 49 stolen bases (a Round Rock record, and second in the PCL) in 52 attempts over 80 games. On August 4, 2022, Texas selected Thompson's contract and promoted him to the active roster to make his MLB debut versus the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. In his debut, Thompson recorded his first career hit, a bunt single off of Johnny Cueto. On August 30, Thompson hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

starter

Framber Valdez Framber Valdez (born November 19, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Valdez signed with the Astros as an international free agent in 2015, and made his MLB debut in 2018. In 2 ...

. In 2022 with Texas, he batted .265/.302/.312 in 170 at bats with 18 steals in 21 attempts, and his 85.71% stolen base percentage was 8th-best in the American League, as he played primarily left field. He had the second-fastest sprint speed of all major league batters, at 30.4 feet/second. In 37 games for Texas in 2023, Thompson batted .170/.237/.283 with 4 RBI and 4 stolen bases. On August 11, 2023, Thompson was designated for assignment following the promotion of J. P. Martínez.

Kansas City Royals

On August 13, 2023, Thompson was claimed off waivers by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. In 33 games for the Triple–A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

, Thompson hit .259/.313/.410 with 4 home runs, 17 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.

Cincinnati Reds

On October 26, 2023, Thompson was claimed off waivers by the

, who designated him for assignment on December 28. He was then claimed by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

on January 4, 2024 designated for assignment on January 19, and claimed by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

on January 24. Thompson was designated for assignment by the Twins on February 7 following multiple waiver claims, and was then claimed again by the Reds on February 13. Thompson was optioned to the Triple–A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

to begin the 2024 season. On March 27, Thompson was recalled from Louisville. He played in 17 games for Cincinnati, but went 2–for–18 (.111) with no home run or RBI. On May 23, Thompson was designated for assignment by the Reds. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Double–A Chattanooga Lookouts on May 25.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Bubba 1998 births Living people African-American baseball players Arizona League Rangers players Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida Baseball players from Mobile, Alabama Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Reds players Down East Wood Ducks players Frisco RoughRiders players Hickory Crawdads players Major League Baseball outfielders Omaha Storm Chasers players Round Rock Express players Surprise Saguaros players Texas Rangers players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportspeople