Ryan Thompson is a professional baseball relief pitcher who made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Minnesota Twins. As a result of his MLB playing career, Thompson has a collection of baseball cards that chronicle his time in the minor leagues and major leagues. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the more notable Ryan Thompson baseball cards that exist.
One of Thompson’s earliest cards comes from 2013, when he was pitching in A-ball for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the Low-A affiliate of the Twins. Thompson’s 2013 Cedar Rapids Kernels card can be found in Minor League sets from Bowman and Topps. This serves as one of the first baseball cards capturing Thompson’s professional baseball career before reaching the highest level.
In 2014, Thompson split time between High-A and Double-A in the Twins system. He received cards that year in Minor League sets from Bowman, Topps, and Panini. The Bowman card shows Thompson donning the uniform of the Fort Myers Miracle, the Twins’ High-A club. The Panini card features Thompson with the New Britain Rock Cats, Minnesota’s Double-A team at the time.
During the 2015 season, Thompson pitched solely at the Double-A level for New Britain once again. He has cards from that season in Minor League offerings from Bowman, Topps, and Panini highlighting his continued progression through the Twins farm system. The 2015 Panini card in particular provides a glimpse of Thompson on the cusp of a potential MLB call-up.
Thompson got his first real shot in the big leagues in 2016. On June 28, 2016, he was brought up to Minnesota to join the Twins’ bullpen corps for the first time. Naturally, this debut activated Thompson’s inclusion in several major league sets from 2016. Rookie cards featuring Thompson’s first MLB action can be found in releases such as Topps Chrome, Topps Heritage, Topps Series 2, and Bowman Sterling. Each serves as a memento of Thompson crossing the threshold to reach the pinnacle of professional baseball.
In 2017 and 2018, Thompson bounced between Minnesota and the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate in Rochester, frequently getting called up and sent back down. He garnered additional major league cards in 2017 Topps Series 1 & 2 as well as 2018 Topps Series 1 & 2 showing his continued development at the highest level. At the same time, he still appeared frequently in minor league offerings to represent his experience playing Triple-A ball.
After establishing himself as a big league reliever, Thompson earned a full-time spot on the Twins roster in 2019. That season he achieved career-high totals in games played (66), innings (71), strikeouts (62), and ERA (3.21). Naturally, having his best MLB season elevated Thompson in the hobby. His 2019 Topps Series 1 & 2 cards were hot commodities among collectors. He even earned an “Update” variation card showing off his late-season form.
In addition to his standard rookie and annual Major League issues, Thompson has also received specialty cards over the years. Some examples include a 2016 Bowman Sterling Auto Silver card featuring Thompson’s autographed relic, a 2020 Topps Allen & Ginter card with unique retro artwork or heritage parallels in Topps Chrome. He was also selected to participate in the annual Topps Prospect Deck set in past seasons.
While the 2020 season was shorter due to COVID-19, Thompson still managed to crack additional products that year like Topps Big League and Topps Opening Day. He has carried that momentum into 2021 by already appearing in this year’s Topps Series 1 & Series 2. As long as Thompson remains in the majors, collectors can expect to see him pop up in annual Topps flagship sets as well as more specialty releases too.
As his MLB career has progressed, Ryan Thompson has developed a nice collection of baseball cards spanning from his early minor league seasons to today as a big league relief arm. His cards provide a tangible look back through the evolution of his professional path fromLow-A to MLB. With continued success on the mound, Thompson will assuredly attain additional noteworthy baseball cards commemorating his playing tenure. All told, Thompson’s growing collection serves as a chronicling of his journey from prospect to big leaguer.
