By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor
The Phillies got themselves a nice haul when the dealt Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman to the Rangers. Right-hander Jake Thompson was one of the most highly-regarded prospects that Philadelphia received and the 22-year-old from Dallas, Texas is making a strong case for a promotion to the big leagues. With Jeremy Hellickson garnering interest from a handful of teams, we could see Thompson in red pinstripes as early as next week.
Thompson had a rough start to the year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, posting a 6.16 ERA in four April starts before rebounding in May with a 3.22 ERA in six starts. Since then? He's been dominant. Although he hasn't piled up strikeout numbers, Thompson held batters to a .211 average in June and .172 thus far in July.
"I know he's throwing very well," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin told Bill Evans of NJ.com. "I guess there's a chance we'll see him before the year's over. Guys are doing well (in the minor leagues) and in due time we'll see some of those players."
Thompson has put together a phenomenal stretch of games over the past month. He's allowed no runs in four of his last five starts and six of 10, one run or less in his last five and two runs or less in his last seven outings. Since May 31, a span of 10 starts for Thompson, he's 6-1 with a 1.36 ERA, lowering his total earned run average from 4.23 to 2.29. His record also took a nice turn, going from 3-4 to 9-5. In his last three starts, he's allowed nine hits and no runs while striking out 13. His scoreless innings streak stands at 22.
Thompson's most recent outing came on Wednesday against the Indianapolis Indians on the road. He tossed six shutout innings, scattering three hits while walking four and striking out five.
MLB.com ranks the Phillies farmhand as the No. 47 overall prospect in baseball and No. 2 in Philadelphia's system.
