Thompson Gets 300th Save
Calgary Marauder closer Silas Thompson notched his 300th save on September 16 against the Buffalo Bison. Thompson only needed 5 pitches to put down the Bison and earn his 37th save of the season. Thompson becomes only the 2nd player to earn 300 saves wearing a Marauder uniform.
Thompson was drafted by the team as the 9th pick in the 1st supplemental round originally as a shortstop. In college he batted .270 with 10 HR and 35 RBIs in 44 games played. He also stole 39 bases while only getting caught 5 times. He was 9-5 as a starting pitcher with a 3.09 ERA. It was his 11 Ks per 9 innings that caught the team's attention.
The Marauders first tried Thompson as a starter and he showed promise at A ball before converting to the bullpen at AA Duluth in 2008. in 2010-11 he saved 46 games and was called up to Calgary in September 2011. In 9 games from the pen he was brilliant. The problem for Thompson is the team still had Paul Stroud closing out games so they gave him a shot at the rotation.
In 2012 and 2013 Thompson made 59 starts for the team posting a 25-28 record. In 2012 he made the All Star team as a starter, but his numbers slid in 2013. In 2014 Thompson replaced Stroud as the team's closer and proved to be one of the league's best. In 2015 he not only made the All Star team as a closer, but won the Jason Egan Reliever Award. He was selected as an All Star again in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Thompson passed Stroud's 292 saves and moved into 2nd place on the team's leaderboard. Louis Sheffield is Calgary's all time saves leader with 321 saves only 20 ahead of Thompson. There is a very good chance he will pass him next season. Interestingly Thompson and Stroud are currently tied for 30th in MBWBA history with 301 saves.
