Bubba Thompson

Bubba Thompson

24-Year-Old OutfielderOF
Texas Rangers
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Thompson was called up for his big-league debut in August and spent the final two months of the season as a lineup regular for Texas. The young outfielder finished with a .265/.302/.312 slash line, one home runs, nine RBI and 18 stolen bases in 55 games. He also had a 30.9 percent strikeout rate, which will need to be improved upon if he's going to stick in the lineup in 2023. Thompson was never a major power threat in the minors, but his .047 ISO during the first taste of the majors was comically low, and he had only six extra-base hits in 181 plate appearances. His average and speed in 2022 could provide some value across multiple categories, but he'll need to make better and stronger contact to have more staying power in the majors. Thompson should enter spring training with a strong chance to start Opening Day, at least. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
#422
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Rangers in August of 2022.
Could take over in center field
OFTexas Rangers
March 6, 2023
Thompson is a candidate to handle center field for the Rangers while Leody Taveras (oblique) is likely sidelined to begin the season, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Taveras has a low-grade oblique strain, which has his status for Opening Day up in the air. Thompson might have been on the outside looking in for a roster spot if Taveras had been healthy, but he's probably the team's best defensive option in center field for as long as Taveras is sidelined. While his ability with the bat is still in question, Thompson's ability to steal bases would make him a viable fantasy option in deep leagues if he's getting regular at-bats. Texas could also consider moving Adolis Garcia from right field to center.
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Batting Stats
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2022
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
4
27
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
1
18
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2020
 
 
+25%
OPS vs RHP
2022
 
 
+25%
OPS vs RHP
2021
No Stats
2020
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2020vs Left .523 59 5 1 3 5 .189 .259 .264
Since 2020vs Right .656 122 13 0 6 13 .299 .322 .333
2022vs Left .523 59 5 1 3 5 .189 .259 .264
2022vs Right .656 122 13 0 6 13 .299 .322 .333
2021vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2020
 
 
+19%
OPS at Home
2022
 
 
+19%
OPS at Home
2021
No Stats
2020
No Stats
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2020Home .664 91 6 1 7 9 .284 .300 .364
Since 2020Away .559 90 12 0 2 9 .244 .303 .256
2022Home .664 91 6 1 7 9 .284 .300 .364
2022Away .559 90 12 0 2 9 .244 .303 .256
2021Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2020Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Bubba Thompson compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.13
 
BB Rate
3.9%
 
K Rate
30.9%
 
BABIP
.389
 
ISO
.047
 
AVG
.265
 
OBP
.302
 
SLG
.312
 
OPS
.613
 
wOBA
.276
 
Exit Velocity
84.8 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
22.4%
 
Barrels/PA
1.1%
 
Expected BA
.171
 
Expected SLG
.234
 
Sprint Speed
27.0 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
55.0%
 
Line Drive %
12.0%
 
Fly Ball %
33.0%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
Games By Position
Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2020
2019
2018
Thompson missed close to two months with a fractured left hamate bone and made a second trip to the injured list in the summer, playing a total of 57 games with High-A Down East. The results on the field were downright ugly and his prospect stock is still tumbling as you read this. His athleticism is off the charts and the power-speed dream will keep him on a roster in most dynasty leagues for the foreseeable future, but Thompson's baseball skills are lacking at this stage. In particular, he struggles to put bat to ball with consistency. He struck out at a 31.6% clip in 2019, up from 28.7% at Low-A. Thompson inflicted very little damage when he did manage to make contact in 2019, posting an almost-impossibly-low 13.0 Hard%. Some of that was probably due to the hamate injury and Thompson did show a more discerning eye at the plate with a 9.2 BB%, but a bet on Thompson is a bet on raw tools over skills.
A two-sport athlete who could have played QB in the SEC, Thompson was popped by the Rangers at the back of the first round in 2017 and broke out as a top-100 fantasy prospect in 2018. His full-season debut was delayed five weeks due to a knee injury, and he understandably struggled early against Low-A pitching, hitting .252 with a 29.4 K% in his first 160 PA. He really took off when the calendar turned to July, hitting .319/.369/.481 with five home runs and 24 steals (on 30 attempts) in 47 games. Thompson still struck out in 28.1% of his plate appearances over that stretch while only walking 5.4% of the time, illustrating the lack of plate skills at this stage of his development. He has huge raw power, and should gradually get to more of it in games. There is a reasonable chance he gets exposed at High-A or Double-A. On the flipside, he legitimately has 30/30 upside, and could continue to improve as he moves up the ladder with more reps and instruction.
A classic Rangers pick, Thompson fell to 26th overall in last year’s draft due to concerns about his ability to hit. Like Nick Williams and Lewis Brinson before him, if he hits, he has the tools to be special. A two-sport star in high school, Thompson could have played quarterback in the SEC but opted for a first-round payday, netting a slightly under-slot $2.1 million bonus. He has classic center field tools, with 65-grade speed and good instincts. Thompson also has a chance to provide 25-plus homer power down the road, although he is in the nascent stage of tapping into that raw power in games. We still don’t have enough information to get a good gauge of what type of hitter he will be. There will likely be growing pains over the next couple years, but his upside will warrant patience in deeper dynasty leagues. Knee tendinitis limited Thompson to just 30 games in the AZL, so it’s unclear if he will be sent to Low-A or held back in extended spring training.
More Fantasy News
Shows off legs
OFTexas Rangers
March 6, 2023
Thompson went 0-for-2 with a walk and stole a base in Sunday's spring game against the Angels.
ANALYSIS
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Returns to lineup Sunday
OFTexas Rangers
Leg
March 5, 2023
Thompson is leading off and playing center field Sunday against the Angels in Cactus League play.
ANALYSIS
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Scratched Saturday
OFTexas Rangers
Leg
March 5, 2023
Thompson was scratched Saturday due to tightness in his legs, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
ANALYSIS
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Out of Sunday's lineup
OFTexas Rangers
September 25, 2022
Thompson is not in Sunday's lineup against the Guardians.
ANALYSIS
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Closes in on 20 steals
OFTexas Rangers
September 24, 2022
Thompson went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Guardians.
ANALYSIS
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