Baseball in Fort Wayne

Sean Thompson was drafted by the Padres in 2002 out of Thunder Ridge High School in Littleton Colorado. By 2004, he was putting together a solid season in Fort Wayne where he went 9-6 with a 3.10 ERA over 27 games (all as a starter).

During that season, he struck out 157 and walked 57 in 148 innings pitched. In his first two seasons, his star potential increasingly looked to be a very rapidly rising one.

But then he hit Double-A ball in Mobile, where his plus curveball and quality changeup weren’t quite enough to combat the occasional missed fastball. A poor Spring training the next season saw him return to Double-A. He looked to be turning the corner, and then struggled in May and June. The Padres removed him from the 40-man roster as they traded for Milton Bradley.

Following his release, Thompson caught on with Colorado, and Kansas City. He made it as high as Triple-A for 1 inning over three games in that time (with the Royals in Omaha, where he ended the 2007 season).

As John Conniff reports for MadFriars, Thompson is currently has struggling in the Atlantic League with the Camden Riversharks. Among his teammates is another former Wizards player, outfielder LJ Biernbaum. He has a 1-4 record and a 5.85 ERA.

In his interview with John, Thompson discusses witnessing his first base coach getting killed by a line drive, his reluctance to “let go” with his pitches, injuries, indy league competition and his chances of returning to the farm team of a Major League club.

Update (01/10/2009): Thompson is coming back to Indiana in 2009. The Evansville Otters of the Frontier League have announced that the lefty has signed with the team (hat tip to Friar John).

Photo by Chad Gramling, 2004.