Cincinnati Reds Claim Former Texas Rangers Top Prospect Bubba Thompson Off Waivers
The Cincinnati Reds have claimed outfielder Bubba Thompson off waivers from the Kansas City Royals, the team announced Thursday afternoon.
This marks the second time Thompson has been on the move in the past two months, as the Royals only claimed him off waivers themselves in August. Prior to that point, Thompson had spent the entirety of his seven-year professional career with the Texas Rangers.
Thompson – a former first round pick and top prospect in the Rangers' system – hit .259 with four home runs, 17 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a .723 OPS across 33 games with the Royals' Triple-A affiliate in Omaha.
Thompson appeared in 37 games with the Rangers at the major league level this season, batting .170 with a .520 OPS. In 2022, Thompson hit .265 with a .613 OPS in 55 games.
Left-handed pitchers have limited Thompson to a .165 batting average in the majors, compared to his .285 average against righties. Thompson has managed to flash his above-average speed at the MLB, level, though, stealing 22 bases on 27 tries for his career.
The 25-year-old has averaged 20 home runs, 81 RBI and 58 stolen bases per 162 games throughout his career in the minors. But after batting .304 with an .829 OPS with Triple-A Round Rock last year, Thompson hit .259 with a .733 OPS at the same level this year.
The 2017 first round pick was a top-five prospect in Texas' system from 2018 to 2019, but he fell all the way to No. 29 on MLB Pipeline in 2022.
The Reds already have an emerging young outfield as is between Will Benson, Jake Fraley, TJ Friedl and Spencer Steer, all of whom have exceeded their rookie limits in the past three seasons. Cincinnati led all of baseball in stolen bases with 190 this year as well, so even if Thompson's talent on the basepaths isn't a new dynamic on the 40-man roster, his talent profile does seem to fit the club's philosophy.
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