Speed can be a powerful weapon to any major league roster. That is just one of the things that Bubba Thompson provides for the Texas Rangers. Since joining the big club in early August, the 24-year old outfielder has made quite an impression. He has quickly become a fan favorite at Globe Life Field, and it is fair to say that he just might find himself in the discussion to make the Rangers’ roster in 2023. To do that, however, he needs to keep doing what he has been doing for the past seven weeks. That would be getting on base, and stealing as many bases as he possibly can.
Bubba Thompson
Bubba Thompson made his major league debut on August 4 of this year. Since then, he has played in 44 games for the Rangers. He has a batting average of .284 over 134 at-bats. He doesn’t have that much power in his bat, as he only has one home run to his credit in 2022. Bubba Thompson’s main weapon on the field is his speed. In the 44 games that he has played, he has swiped a total of 16 bases. For the time being, Thompson is hitting near the bottom of the Rangers’ order. That could change in time if keeps doing what he has been doing.
Bubba Thompson has also proven himself to be a real asset in the outfield as well. Since his debut, he has a fielding percentage of .981. He has played the majority of his games in left field for the Rangers, and his speed has also proven to be valuable in that respect. He has only made two errors this season. Both of those errors occurred when he was patrolling left field. So, it appears to be a safe conclusion that he will spend the majority of his time in right field. In the 257 innings that he has spent in the outfield, Thompson has made 53 putouts in a total of 54 chances.
Bubba’s Future
Once he is given the chance to really stretch out, Bubba Thompson could potentially become a .300 hitter for the Rangers. Given his .280 average, that probably won’t happen this year, as the Rangers only have 12 games remaining on their schedule in 2022. However, if he makes the team out of spring training in 2023, he has a very good chance to reach that mark of .300. It will also be very interesting to see where the Rangers put Bubba Thompson in the order next year.
Chances are that he won’t stay in the eighth spot for very long next year. With his speed, he has the potential to be a very good leadoff hitter someday. As stated earlier, he does not have much power in his bat, and that will need to be taken into consideration when determining his spot in the lineup for next year. He is still very young, and he still has much to learn at the major league level. He has some great teammates that can teach him along the way, however. Fellow outfielders Adolis Garcia, and Kole Calhoun could be great mentors for Bubba Thompson. Bubba Thompson has a great future head of him for the Texas Rangers, and both the team and the fans are looking forward to watching that happen.
Other News
It was announced on Saturday that right-hander Dane Dunning will miss the remainder of the 2022 season. Dunning will have arthroscopic hip surgery. Dunning will finish his 2022 season with a 4.46 ERA, 53.3% grounder rate, 20.4% strikeout rate, and 9.2% walk rate over 153 1/3 innings and 29 starts in the Rangers’ rotation.
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