6 Cardinals who have stolen the show so far in Spring Training

Zack Thompson

While question marks abound with the starting rotation, Zack Thompson is someone who continues to look the part as the Cardinals' "next man up" in their rotation and will likely join that five-man group if Sonny Gray has to begin the season on the injured list.

Posting a 3.38 ERA with seven strikeouts across eight innings thus far, Thompson has done nothing but compete on the mound each time out, and could even carry more upside than other arms in the rotation not named Sonny Gray.

Last year, multiple young arms got opportunities in the Cardinals rotation to prove themselves as future starters. While none of them did enough to warrant them not signing three starters, Thompson was the best of the bunch and brought some swing-and-miss to the St. Louis rotation.

Thompson's role this year is hard to nail down. I have a hard time believing he won't be the next man up in the rotation if needed, but if he's not needed in that role, then I'll be curious to see if he lands in the bullpen or stays stretched out in Memphis.

While a bullpen role would make him a significant piece even when he's not starting, I think what's best for the club right now and ready to start, as I feel a lot better about Thompson early in 2024 than I do their other depth starters.