C’s Chat – 2026 Vancouver Canadians RHP #38 Danny Thompson Jr.

C’s Chat goes back to the bump with 2026 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Danny Thompson Jr.

Born in Greenville, North Carolina, Thompson spent his formative years in Pollocksville, North Carolina and attended nearby Bern High School where he was a two-way player as a shortstop and hurler. He remained in the Tar Heel State when he attended North Carolina Wesleyan in 2021, a Division III program in the USA South Athletic Conference. Thompson was named the Conference Rookie of the Year and won three Pitcher of the Week awards in his freshman season in which he won five of six decisions with a 3.43 earned run average. He struck out 62 batters over 42 innings and collected three saves.

Moving to the Bishops starting rotation in 2022, Thompson’s signature performance that year saw him toss 11 innings from the pulpit where he struck out a team-record 17 batters, allowing three runs to earn the victory over Averett College on April 2. He finished the year with a 5-2 record, a 3.97 ERA and fanned 87 batters in 68 innings. Thompson pitched two complete games and also added a save. He would log more innings in summer college ball with the Winchester Royals of the Valley League. Thompson struck out 24 batters over 26.2 IP and earned a win while posting an ERA of 1.98.

In 2023, Thompson toggled between the starting rotation and the bullpen. He went 4-3 with a 5.23 ERA while striking out 56 batters over 51.2 innings. In summer ball, things went better for Thompson when he went to join the Asheboro Zookeepers of the Coastal Plain League. He struck out 44 batters over 30.2 IP and won three of four decision with a 2.05 ERA by splitting time as a starter and bullpenner.

The 2024 season featured a change of address as Thompson transferred to the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Pitching exclusively out of the Spartans arm barn, he recorded 51 Ks over 38 innings and put up a 5-3 record with a 4.50 ERA and four saves. Those contributions helped UNCG win the Southern Conference regular season title. Thompson returned to Asheboro in the summer and sported a 1.31 ERA in which he struck out 35 batters over 20.2 innings and notched a pair of saves.

In 2025, Thompson matched his college-best 87 strikeouts over 61⅔ innings with UNCG with his 12.7 K/9 rate topping the Southern Conference. He was a Conference First-Team All-Star selection after compiling a 3.79 ERA, two wins and four saves.

After a pair of one-inning appearances in 2021, Thompson returned to the Morehead City Marlins of the Coastal Plain League and fanned nearly two batters an inning with 29 strikeouts in 15.1 IP. He won a game and saved two others to go along with a 3.52 ERA and was named a CPL East Division All-Star.

The Toronto Blue Jays would select Thompson in the eighth round of the 2025 MLB Draft as a senior sign on the intel provided by scout Coulson Barbiche Jr. Thompson accepted a $5,000 signing bonus and so far, the Blue Jays have gotten incredible bang for their buck.

Reporting to Low-A Dunedin, Thompson had a microscopic 0.66 ERA covering 13.1 innings, giving up just one run, a solo homer to the first batter he faced (Lakeland’s Sergio Tapia). After that, Thompson was practically flawless as he put a 15-4 K/BB total.

Thompson would make the Vancouver Canadians Opening Night roster in 2026 and allowed just one unearned over his first four appearances covering 15 innings. He finished April with a 1.96 ERA. He ended May with a career-high five innings and three runs allowed to earn the win over Eugene on May 29 and began June with another five frames of one-run ball at Tri-City on June 4. Thompson almost made it to five innings in his next outing. He surrendered two runs over 4⅔ innings and struck out six to help the C’s down the AquaSox on June 10.

It was on June 16 when Thompson was promoted to Double-A New Hampshire on June 16. His tenure with the Fisher Cats began with a 1313 innings scoreless streak and allowed just run over his first three starts. Over his first 22 innings in the Eastern League, he has struck out 20 batters over 22 innings with a 3.27 ERA.

Thompson is currently the 25th-best prospect in the Blue Jays system by MLB Pipeline.

“Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40. The 6-foot right-hander has already taken nice steps forward in his professional development under the Blue Jays’ guidance. His fastball velocity is up a bit in his first full season, sitting 93-95 mph, and he can staple the four-seamer to the top of the zone from a lower-than-average release height, making it tough for High-A hitters to pick up. Thompson also works with a promising upper-80s slider with harder action, and he’s folded in a sweepier breaker in ’26 too (one he calls a curveball but is likely closer to a sweeper). He’s struggled to land his upper-80s changeup in the zone. It might be more of a command-over-control profile for Thompson moving forward. He can place the ball in the right spot to miss bats consistently, but if batters can learn to lay off the fastballs up and the sliders down, Thompson could find more trouble the higher he climbs…he’s been a K-BB% standout with a possible back-end starter profile and another potential win for the improved Toronto pitching department.”

Baseball America has Thompson Jr. rated even higher in its Blue Jays Top 30 prospects list, placing him 15th.

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C’s Plus Baseball chatted with the 23-year-old Thompson after his final start in a Vancouver uniform in June. This interview has been edited for clarity.

C’s Plus Baseball – Danny, let’s take it back to the very beginning. You’re from North Carolina. How did your baseball career get started?

Danny Thompson Jr. – Shoot, I mean, like real young, I guess I picked up a bat ever since I could walk. But growing up, high school, I was a shortstop all the way through high school. Went to North Carolina Wesleyan. I went in as a two-way. I was a shortstop-slash- pitcher. And then my freshman fall, my pitching coach was like, ‘Hey, go ahead, drop that bat. We’re going to need you more on the mound.’ And just from then on, everything has worked out on the mound. And then I transferred to UNC Greensboro. Had my two years there and then got lucky enough to get drafted by the Blue Jays.

CPB – Were you okay with just becoming a pitcher once you hit the college ranks?

DTJ – Oh, absolutely. I was okay with that in the end. Actually, my roommate at the time, (Tyson Bass) was also a two-way. So I think it was like a little battle. I think that’s why they put us together. But he won the position side, I won the pitching side. So in the end, yeah, I’m glad I kind of let the bat go.

CPB – So how did you wind up at Wesleyan? How did that all develop?

DTJ – To be honest, just playing travel ball. And I was fortunate enough to get some emails out to them and they were able to come to a couple of tournaments and had a visit there. And just the way Rocky Mountain is, Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. And the campus also, it was almost like a second home almost when I got there on on that visit. And in the end, I decided on them. I think it was the right decision to go.

CPB – Going through your bio at Wesleyan, I think I saw something you struck out 17 batters and pitched 11 innings. How did you get through that? I mean, that’s kind of like Jack Morris in the World Series territory there.

DTJ – So I just didn’t want to come out the game. And every inning past the seventh, the pitching coach, he was a new pitching coach at the time, but he just kept checking on me. He said, ‘Hey, man, you okay? You good?’ I just gave him a look up. ‘You better keep the ball in my hand. I’m finishing this game type of thing.’ But honestly, the arm felt great. The body felt great. But I’ll tell you what the day after, the body was kind of hurting a little bit.

CPB – I can only imagine what the pitch count was. I guess it was well over 100.

DTJ – Want to know the exact number?

CPB – Sure.

DTJ – 142.

CPB – Yeah, that’s a full night’s work and then some Well, good on you for getting through that. How did you develop as a pitcher there? I know you eventually transitioned to the bullpen. But how did you develop at first at Wesleyan and then at UNC Greensboro?

DTJ – Yeah, so Wesleyan introduced me to a lot of things. A lot of things that some guys use now like water bags. I don’t know if you’ve seen anything like that. So just a kind of like an inflatable little ball that you put water in. There’s a certain amount of pounds and whatnot. All for rotational stability, things like that. So they introduced me to that and started doing some speed training with it. And then as well in the weight room, kind of speed with weight. Put the weight on, get it up as fast as you can. That kind of transitioned to us on the mound. We’re moving 100 miles an hour on the mound. And that’s how they wanted us to move in the weight room. So sticking with that and then transferring to UNCG, it was more of, ‘Alright, let’s build some muscle, get some body weight on the body.’ And as well as moving quick down the mound. So it’s pretty cool.

CPB – How is the transition from starting to relieving? Were you okay with that?

DTJ – Perfectly okay with that. Being in the bullpen, kind of the majority of my college career, there is a different adrenaline coming out of the bullpen, but it’s also a different adrenaline starting. Because I like setting the tone first. ‘Come on, I’ll give you my best five to seven innings’ Let the boys in the bullpen do their thing just like I would after a starter.

CPB – You get drafted by the Blue Jays. How did you find out about it? What was your draft day experience like?

DTJ – Oh, man, it was kind of all over the place. So getting prepared for the family to come to the house and me and my fiancée, we were going to Harris Teeter, good grocery store, trying to get some things for the little cookout we were going to have. But I actually get a phone call from one of the A’s scouts. He said, ‘Hey, man, just a heads up, just in case. Obviously, nothing has started yet. There’s a chance.’ ‘So okay, cool. A few hours later, the draft started going. The White Sox call, like, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about sometime after the 10th round.’ ‘Okay, all right, cool. I’ll have my phone on me. Ain’t gonna go anywhere without it.’ And then I got the phone call from Blue Jays. He said, ‘Hey, man, we’re gonna take take this pick in the eighth round for you. Do you want it?’ ‘Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Come on.’

CPB – I guess you had a big party afterwards and got to celebrate the occasion. Who did you think of when you got drafted and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to pro ball’?

DTJ – My parents were the first in mind because they put the bat the first bat in my hand. And just from then on out, Dad’s coached me. My Mom’s been there. Even the grandparents have been there. They’ve been to plenty of baseball games. And now meeting my fiancée in college. She was with me through the college experience. So now having her even after was special.

CPB – You know Shawn Armstrong. How instrumental was that for you having a major league pitcher you can kind of call upon for advice anytime?

DTJ – I think it’s huge. Just the first time hearing about him. First thing I heard about him was that he was at ECU before getting drafted and that he was drafted by Cleveland. Actually, he’s back with Cleveland this year. He’s a big person to have in my corner as well, like with any struggles or anything good, he kind of helped me out here and there. I think it was a huge help because we will text back and forth. ‘Hey, man, what do I need to do just so this can work?’ He’ll shoot me a text right back. Or we’ll get on a phone call and just have a conversation of like, ‘Hey, man, what are you doing this fall? You hunting anywhere cool?’ But yeah, it’s real nice to have Shawn in my corner.

CPB – So you get to Dunedin and get to the draft camp. You meet a lot of new people. Was there anyone you hit it off with right away?

DTJ – Well, I got I gotta go with my guy Carson Myers. He was my roommate in Dunedin and my road trip buddy and roommate when we were at home, and we’re actually going to be roommates when we go on away for the next two weeks. But I think he was the first person that I definitely clicked with. And then the guys afterwards, we all started getting together.

CPB – The Player Development Complex, what were your initial thoughts when you walked in there and got to try out all the all the new gizmos?

DTJ – At first, I was like, ‘Oh, this is fancy for me.’ But it’s also cool to see. It was an eye opener of like, ‘Oh, this is professional baseball. This is what it is.’ It’s actually growing up as a fan of it and now seeing almost like the behind the scenes. It’s like, ‘Okay, this is really cool.’ But yeah, first impressions I was in total…Wow.

CPB – Was there anything you’d say that you learned about yourself when you were there?

DTJ – Just trying to find the competitiveness in myself, right? Finding that and kind of competing with the other guys. I mean, compete with them in the weight room, compete with them in bullpen games, just kind of mess around with them as well, like in a friendly matter. Because, I mean, we’re all trying to go to the same place. But we also trying to compete with one another. It’s like, ‘Hey, you can’t spot that.’ ‘Yes, I can.’ This is one of the things that’s real nice to have.

CPB – Would you say there is maybe one piece of equipment that absolutely amazed you or something you really liked when you’re working out there?

DTJ – I would say the pitching lab, for sure. Because I walked in there the first time. And I can’t tell you how many cameras they have in there. I wanted to ask ‘What’s that camera for? What’s that camera for? What’s this?’ This is cool to see and how they kind of built that that up just for pitchers to learn everything about themselves.

CPB – Did you really learn a lot more about maybe your delivery or how your pitches work or anything technical like that?

DTJ – I’d say definitely pitch development definitely stood out. I can finally see like, they slow it down wherever my hand position is. Never thought of that at all. Because my Dad’s old school. He just said, I just grip it and rip it. So I was taught that way. But now seeing it in slow motion, I was like, ‘Oh, okay, that makes more sense.’

CPB – I want to ask about your first pro experience with the Dunedin Blue Jays. A few appearances out of the bullpen, that went pretty well. What was that first taste of pro ball like for you?

DTJ – I’d say the first taste was probably a little slap in the mouth because the first batter I faced, I gave him my first home run. So it was a little ‘Hey, welcome to it.’ But after that, it was like, ‘All right, now let’s go after these guys and put up some zeros.’

CPB – Was it in a way you just kind of felt ‘Okay, that happened. I’m here now’?

DTJ – Oh, absolutely. I watched the ball entirely. That ball off the bat. I just watched it. I said, ‘Huh? So that’s a pro home run. All right. Cool. All right. Onto the next. Do it.’

CPB – How big is the mental side of things, just being able to overcome something not going quite the way. Last night, you did manage to get almost five innings (June 10) and limit the damage in two runs. How is the mental side of it working for you when you’re on the mound?

DTJ – I’d say it’s pretty good. So far. There’s some things I need to check myself on. But overall, I think just keeping it simple and keep it in the zone. We’ll be good to go.

CPB – I want to ask you the pitches you pound the zone with. What is that you’re throwing right now and how would you rank them?

DTJ – I throw a four-seam fastball. It’s my favourite. My second one would be my slider. And my third, I’m liking the curveball a little bit more now. So that leaves the changeup as my fourth best or I should say last. But yeah, definitely fastball, slider, curveball, changeup.

CPB – How do you find that pitch mix is working for you trying to master two breaking balls like that?

DTJ – I think it’s great. At first in Dunedin, it was brought up kind of later in the season, or I’d say, roughly three weeks left to go in the season. That’s whenever the pitching coach, (Cory Riordan) was there. And he said, ‘Hey, man, you ever throw a curveball?’ I said, ‘No, but I know how to grip one.’ ‘Okay, let me see how it is.’ So I gripped it through one. He said, ‘Do you do that in a game?’ ‘Sure, why not?’ So he just said, ‘Hey, do it. Throw a few curveballs and catch play your next outing. Throw a couple. Let’s see what happens.’ Funny enough, I threw the first one. I struck a guy out on it. So just from then on, it’s been in the arsenal.

CPB – Did you learn the grip for your slider or curveball from anybody? Or how did that all develop?

DTJ – Growing up, I had the knuckle curve. I was taught to just throw it like a fastball and let it do its thing. And I told that to Cory. So he showed me a little grip (to grip it) a little bit differently. And still having to throw it like a fastball, don’t change anything. And the rest it does itself.

CPB – How do you go about using your pitch mix on the mound? I know it’s scouting report dependent what hitters like but I guess it’s more you want to pitch to your strengths?

DTJ – My fastball, the strength is up with with me because there’s a lot of ride on the fastball. And just keeping the hard slider down in a way to a righty. The curveball honestly, that could be thrown at any time. And it could be landed for a strike three. There was a couple of those last night too. And the changeup is also another one just to get away from the lefties. Maybe, psych out a righty on one. Yeah, that’s it.

CPB – What’s your favourite kind of strikeout, the swinging or caught looking?

DTJ – Oh, I like the swinging. I like the swinging more.

CPB – How have you found it here pitching in the Northwest League? Is it much different from the Florida State League? I mean, obviously you’re pitching in front of more fans anyway.

DTJ – Yeah, I say it’s definitely different. Just the crowds are a little louder, which I personally love. And obviously, it’s a six-team league and think it’s the only league that has six teams. So I say it’s just a little bit different. But then again, in other leagues, you’re still gonna see the same team. A little bit repetitive, but it’s all part of it.

CPB – How much of an adjustment is that facing a team six consecutive times, whereas in college, it’s a weekend series, or you get the odd midweek start?

DTJ – I think it’s a big difference. I mean, you got six days out of the week to see what another team has. But then maybe in a couple weeks, you see the same team, you might have a different plan for him, right? As far as like college, you could look at one scouting report and you don’t even worry about them the rest of the year, right? Now, you make a regional or anything after, you might face the same team again, but on the rare occasion. But yeah, definitely, definitely much different.

CPB – What would you say has been your best moment so far this season with the Canadians?

DTJ – I say the best moment was first out of here. I mean, I just come out here to a new place, new area, never been to Vancouver, Canada before. And just seeing the crowd for the first time feeling the mound, feeling the field. That’s the best moment.

CPB – Something that you mentioned is the mound. That’s something maybe the average fan doesn’t consider, when you try to get comfortable on the mound. Do you have like a certain routine or what you try to do to get yourself comfortable trying to dig in?

DTJ – For sure, before throwing any pitch, I definitely make sure I dig a little bit of a hole just so I can stick my back foot in there. Don’t want that slipping out for for any reason. And also taking like a pre-rep, always take a pre-rep, make sure that everything feels good. And then then once I do that, here we go. We’re ready to go.

CPB – How would you describe your delivery? How does it work for you?

DTJ – I personally would call it the three-quarter arm slot. I’m more of a fast-paced kind of pitcher. Kind of go through it, ‘Here it is, have fun and see if you can hit it, whatever.’ But yeah, I feel like the quicker I could get the boys back in the dugout, the better for us, we could put some runs on.

CPB – One thing I’ve noticed a couple of times here. Your emotions when you get a big strike out there at the end of an inning.

DTJ – Oh, yeah, I’m big fiery guy, especially in a big moment or just for kind of any reason the crowds going in. Yeah, I like to show that I’m hyped up, especially for our guys.

CPB – I don’t know if you really pay attention to Baseball America or MLB Pipeline but Baseball America, they just came out the recent rankings and you’re in the top 30 (Blue Jays) now. Is that something you concern yourself with? Or is that just outside noise to you?

DTJ – I think it’s outside noise to me because no matter what, we’re all prospects. We’re all trying to go get to the show. It’s cool. It’s cool to see. But that’s not my main focus. My main focus is out there on that field.

CPB – What’s been the key to your success this year to get the notice of Baseball America. Is it that your fastball has ticked up a little bit from from before?

DTJ – I think it has a little bit. Just what we do in the weight room and what we do out in catch play and what we focus on in bullpens, I think has really helped me maybe tick up a little bit. But other than that, as long as as long as everything feels good, and it’s in the zone. Don’t matter to me.

CPB – All right, I’ll get on with the fun stuff here. Funniest teammate, who would you say that is?

DTJ – Funniest teammate? Oh, well, I know (Carson) Myers the most and I’d say he’s pretty funny.

CPB – Did you have a favourite major league team or player growing up?

DTJ – I grew up as a Yankees fan. I know that might be a little little dagger at the Blue Jays but I grew up as a Yankees fan, but I was also a huge Derek Jeter fan. Big time Derek Jeter guy.

CPB – My final question. The Canadians have lots of different uniforms. The Nat uniform, black, which you wore yesterday (June 10), red, gray, blue. Do you have a favourite?

DTJ – I think all of them are my favourite. Honestly, I like wearing all of them. All white, all gray, the blues. Yeah, I like all of them. Honestly, I don’t have a favourite.

CPB – I don’t know if it’s still the tradition but does the starting pitcher get to decide what what you guys wear that night?

DTJ – Yeah, actually, last night, Mayo (C’s manager José Mayorga) came up to me. He said, ‘Hey, what jersey you want to wear tomorrow?’ I said, ‘I’m on you, you pick.’ And so I gave our head guy the option last night.

Danny Thompson Jr. File

• Born – August 9, 2002 in Greenville, NC
  Height/Weight – 6’0’’ 180 pounds
  Bats/Throws – Right/Right
• Uniform Numbers – Wore number 13 with the North Carolina Wesleyan University Bishops from 2021-2023. Wore number 38 with the UNC (University of Northern Carolina) Greensboro Spartans in 2024 and 2025. Wore number 37 for the Dunedin Blue Jays in 2025. Wearing number 1 for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2026.
• Professional Debut – July 30, 2025, for the Dunedin Blue Jays vs. Lakeland Flyers Tigers.
• First Professional Strikeout – August 6, 2025, with Dunedin vs. Palm Beach Cardinals. Struck out Johnfrank Salazar looking.
• First Professional Save – August 20, 2025, for Dunedin at Lakeland. Pitched 1.1 perfect IP with 2 K’s and stranded lone inherited runner.
• C’s Debut – April 4, 2026 at the Tri-City Dust Devils. Pitched 3⅓ scoreless innings with five strikeouts.
• First C’s Win – May 29, 2026, versus the Eugene Emeralds. Pitched 2⅓ innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts.
• Mound Music – “Shepherd of Fire” by Avenged Sevenfold.
• Instagram – @danny_thompson3
• Twitter – @DThompsonJR3
• Now You Know – Thompson was the first UNC Greensboro Spartan drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays since lefthander Ryan Gordon in the 43rd round of 2003 and first baseman Tim Giles in the 20th round of 1996.
• Fun Fact – Thompson earned the nickname “Flat Bill” for not bending the bill of his baseball cap.

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Thanks a million to Danny Thompson Jr., C’s broadcaster Tyler Zickel and Media Relations Assistant Alexa Liptak for getting this C’s Chat on the slope.