photo: Brandt Thompson (Brian Walton/The Cardinal Nation)
Opening his professional career with a bang, Palm Beach right-handed starter Brandt Thompson put together the top overall pitching performance in the St. Louis Cardinals system in April, in our view.
It is time to select The Cardinal Nation’s first Pitcher of the Month for 2025. This article covers pitchers across all levels of the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system during April.
As a reminder, this is NOT the “Pitcher of the Month Among Top Prospects”. Every player in the system has an equal chance, with only their performance during the month used to differentiate the best of the best. Age and level, which are key prospect considerations, are not factors here.
Guidelines and demographics
To qualify, a pitcher must have thrown at least 10 innings during April. 42 of 72 total pitchers made the first cut. To reach the list of nine finalists, an ERA below 2.00 was required. The group consists of three starters and six relievers.
One did not allow an earned run all month and two others had ERA’s below 1.00. But as you will see below, there is more to our process than just selecting the pitcher with the lowest ERA.
The finalists represent all four full-season levels of the organization currently playing, from Low-A Palm Beach up through Triple-A Memphis. The Beach Birds lead the pack with four finalists, followed by the Redbirds with three. Double-A Springfield and High-A Peoria had just one finalist each.
Youth is being served as two finalists are 22 years old and four more are 23.
Counting Stats
In the following table, the finalists are listed in ascending ERA order.
| Pitcher | Tm | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WHIP |
| Michael Gomez | Mem | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10.2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0.84 |
| Mason Burns | PB | 2 | 0 | 0.87 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 10.1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 16 | 1.16 |
| Benjamin Arias | Peo | 0 | 0 | 0.90 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 1.50 |
| Tekoah Roby | Spr | 1 | 1 | 1.06 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 0.94 |
| Jason Savacool | PB | 2 | 1 | 1.50 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 0.96 |
| Brandt Thompson | PB | 1 | 0 | 1.56 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 17.1 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1.10 |
| Andre Granillo | Mem | 3 | 0 | 1.59 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 11.1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 1.06 |
| Zack Weiss | Mem | 1 | 0 | 1.64 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 0.82 |
| Nolan Sparks | PB | 1 | 0 | 1.88 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 14.1 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 1.26 |
That Memphis reliever Michael Gomez allowed no unearned runs on just two hits is exceptional. His seven walks issued are less impressive, however.
16 strikeouts in just 10 1/3 innings by Palm Beach’s Mason Burns quickly caught my eye. His 0.87 ERA wasn’t bad, either.
Though his 0.90 ERA is ever so close to Burns’, Peoria’s Benjamin Arias walked more batters than he struck out.
The next three finalists are starters – Springfield’s Tekoah Roby and Palm Beach teammates Jason Savacool and Brandt Thompson. Each has pluses and minuses. Walks were a bit high for Roby and Savacool, while Thompson issued just one all month. However, the latter was more hittable.
Memphis reliever Andre Granillo always has the strikeouts, but his relatively low walk count of four may be his most encouraging April stat.
His teammate Zack Weiss yielded two home runs, but the fact they were both solo shots kept the 33-year-old among the finalists. Still, his WHIP of 0.82 was the best of the group.
Palm Beach’s Nolan Sparks is the only one of the nine to start a game and collect at least one win and one save during April. Versatility is good, but his 1.88 ERA is the highest among the finalists.
Advanced stats
Here are additional statistics from the nine finalists in the same ascending ERA sequence.
| Pitcher | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | K/BB | BAA | BABIP | WHIP | ERA | FIP |
| Michael Gomez | 10.2 | 7.6 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 0.063 | 0.087 | 0.84 | 0.00 | 4.31 |
| Mason Burns | 10.1 | 13.9 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 0.206 | 0.353 | 1.16 | 0.87 | 3.43 |
| Benjamin Arias | 10 | 6.3 | 7.2 | 0.9 | 0.189 | 0.233 | 1.50 | 0.90 | 5.17 |
| Tekoah Roby | 17 | 8.5 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 0.172 | 0.220 | 0.94 | 1.06 | 3.62 |
| Jason Savacool | 24 | 7.9 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 0.195 | 0.262 | 0.96 | 1.50 | 2.94 |
| Brandt Thompson | 17.1 | 8.3 | 0.5 | 16.6 | 0.265 | 0.346 | 1.10 | 1.56 | 2.14 |
| Andre Granillo | 11.1 | 14.3 | 3.2 | 4.5 | 0.190 | 0.304 | 1.06 | 1.59 | 2.76 |
| Zack Weiss | 11 | 12.3 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 0.111 | 0.105 | 0.82 | 1.64 | 4.74 |
| Nolan Sparks | 14.1 | 10.7 | 5.0 | 2.1 | 0.189 | 0.278 | 1.26 | 1.88 | 3.12 |
With double-digit rates, Granillo, Burns, Weiss and Sparks led the strikeout parade, with the former’s 14.3 Ks per nine innings best of the best. Arias, Gomez and Savacool all had strikeout rates under 8.0 per nine.
No one was anywhere near Thompson’s super stingy 0.50 free passes per nine innings. The next best was Savacool at 2.6.
Three walked five or more batters per nine innings, hurting their chances considerably. They are Sparks, ERA leader Gomez and Arias.
It is impossible to ignore Thompson’s strikeout to walk ratio of 16.0. Small sample or not, that is some impressive pitching. The only other finalist above 3.2 is Granillo at 4.5. ERA leader Gomez brought up the rear at just 1.3.
Eight of the nine pitchers held opposing hitters to a collective batting average under .207, with Gomez (.063) the best of the best. Standing out like a sore thumb is Thompson at .265. But wait!
BABIP (batting average on balls in play) helps explain why Thompson is an outlier. His .346 BABIP suggests some bad luck was in play. Same for Burns at .353.
On the other hand, the amazingly low .087 BABIP from Gomez and .105 mark by Weiss are not sustainable. The two had considerable good fortune that should balance out (with poorer results) over time. Even Roby will have a hard time keeping a BABIP as low as .220.
FIP or fielding independent pitching really puts these April results in a different light. Several of the finalists have FIPs that are three or four runs higher than their ERA.
The pitcher with both the lowest FIP (by more than half a run per nine innings) and the closest ERA (1.56) and FIP (2.14) is the control artist Thompson.
Others with notable FIPs are Granillo (2.76) and Savacool (2.94).
When considering all results, Thompson is our choice as The Cardinal Nation’s April Pitcher of the Month.
About the winner
Not many 17th round draft picks open the professional phase of their career as has Thompson. Listed at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, the former Missouri State University Bear is not intimidating physically, but as noted above, his initial numbers with Palm Beach really stand out.
In his four April starts for the Beach Birds, the 22-year-old averaged 4 1/3 innings, not allowing any earned runs in his first and last outings of the month. In the others, he was charged with just one and two runs, respectively.
Among our finalists, only teammate Nolan Sparks is younger, by one month. Thompson is 22 years and nine months old.
Thompson began his collegiate pitching with two seasons at North Iowa Area Community College. He ranks eighth in school history with 112 career strikeouts.
In his following two seasons with the MSU Bears, Thompson went 11-7 with 159 strikeouts and 49 walks in 162 innings and was an All-Missouri Valley Conference selection both years (2023 and 2024).
Just prior to the 2024 draft, Thompson also pitched in the collegiate Northwoods League. He posted a 3.00 ERA, struck out 30 and issued just two free passes in 24 innings.
Companion article
Palm Beach has swept our major awards for April, with catcher-first baseman Josh Kross the top hitter in the system for the month. Check out his results and those of our finalists here:
The Cardinal Nation April 2025 Player of the Month – Josh Kross
What is next?
The Cardinals organization should also name their own selections as April Player and Pitcher of the Month in the upcoming days.
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