With right-hander Sonny Gray (hamstring) opening the year on the injured list, St. Louis Cardinals left-hander Zack Thompson will make the team out of camp and will start in the rotation. Fellow left-hander Matthew Liberatore will also make the Opening Day roster and pitch out of the bullpen. Thompson looked good in Grapefruit League action this spring, sporting a 2.81 ERA in 16 innings pitched, but with Gray expected to miss the minimum time on the IL to begin the year, the 26-year-old southpaw will only have a few starts in St. Louis' rotation. Thompson bounced around between starting and relieving roles in the majors and minors in 2023 and ended up posting an unimpressive 4.48 ERA and 1.42 WHIP with 25 walks and 72 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings over 25 outings (nine starts) for the Red Birds at the major-league level.

St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Zack Thompson struggled in Tuesday's start for Triple-A Memphis. The left-hander only got two outs and allowed four hits, six runs (three earned), two walks and recorded one strikeout. Thompson just didn't have it on Tuesday, but he has shown a drastic improvement in 2022 from 2021. The 24-year-old's biggest issue throughout his young career has been command, but he has made big jumps this year and is 2-2 with a 4.67 ERA and 1.15 WHIP to go along with 56 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings, but Tuesday's start put a big dent in his overall season stats. Thompson was passed over by fellow pitching prospect Matthew Liberatore for a big-league promotion earlier in May, but there is a chance that Thompson could make his debut at some point in 2022. Due to his inconsistency, Thompson is a better option in dynasty leagues than redraft leagues at the moment.