Position: OF
Born: 3/15/1991
Ht: 6’4″ Wt: 200 lb B-T: R-R
Acquired: Drafted 2nd round in the 2009 draft out of Santa Margarita Catholic HS (Calif.)
Career Stats
FutureSox Prospect Rankings
- #9 – 2009 Postseason
- #7 – 2010 Preseason
- #7 – 2010 Midseason
- #6 – 2010 Postseason
- #3 – 2011 Midseason
- #5 – 2012 Preseason
- #7 – 2012 Midseason
- #2 – 2013 Preseason
- #3 – 2013 Midseason
- #10 – 2014 Preseason
- #17 – 2014 Midseason
- #17 – 2015 Preseason
- #10 – 2015 Midseason
FutureSox Media
- The early development of Trayce Thompson, May 2010
- Is Trayce Thompson primed for a breakout year?, April 2011
- Trayce Thompson moving up the ladder, Aug. 2012
- VIDEO: at-bat 1, May 2013
- VIDEO: at-bat 2, May 2013
- Interview, Sept. 2013
- VIDEO: Full at-bat, May 2014
- VIDEO: Full at-bat 1, March 2015
- VIDEO: Full at-bat 2, March 2015
- In-person report with video, May 2015
- VIDEO: Full at-bat, May 2015
- VIDEO: BP Session 1, May 2015
- VIDEO: BP Session 2, May 2015
- Interview, May 2015
- Trade story, Dec. 2015
- All FutureSox articles tagged Trayce Thompson
Accolades
- South Atlantic League All-Star, 2011 Midseason
- Carolina League All-Star, 2012 Postseason
- Southern League All-Star, 2013 Midseason
- Southern League All-Star, 2014 Midseason
- International League All-Star, 2015 Midseason
Scouting Report
When drafted, Thompson was a high-upside player with everything scouts love: spectacular athleticism, a projectable frame and the talent to be a five-tool player. He showed big time power and a decent walk rate along with good speed and the ability to play a solid centerfield. The only thing that kept him from being an elite prospect was his tendency to strike out due to a long and inconsistent swing. He does have very good bat speed though. Defensively, he can play centerfield and has a strong arm.
After a rough pro debut in 2009, Thompson showed steady improvement in his game up through 2012. He had a strong start in Kannapolis in 2010 before a broken right thumb in May forced him to miss half the season. Between 2011 and 2012 Thompson blasted 49 homers and in 2012 he showed notable improvement in contact rate, making it by far his best season as a pro while moving into the upper levels of the minors.
After that, 2013 was a bit of a down year and the continued red flag of contact rate became more of a talking point after Thompson posted a .704 OPS in Double-A as a 22-year-old. Repeating Double-A in 2014, he improved only marginally in output (.743 OPS, almost entirely improve via increase in doubles), while the K rate actually went up (25.4%).
In 2015, Thompson showed signs of potentially breaking through. The average (.260) was higher than any year prior, his strikeout rate is the lowest it’s been and the power numbers were the highest he’s shown since 2012. He finished with a .260/.304/.441 line in 104 games for Triple-A Charlotte. He earned a stint with the White Sox and impressed with a .295/.363/.533 line in 44 games before being flipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Todd Frazier trade in the offseason.
After a decent 2016 with the Dodgers, Thompson struggled in 2017 and found himself back with the White Sox in 2018. Thompson has not been able to recreate his 2016 MLB debut.
Trayce comes from an athletic family. His dad, Mychal, played in the NBA, oldest brother, Mychel, played hoops at Pepperdine and middle brother, Klay, is a star for the Golden State Warriors.