Aaron Thompson

Aaron Marshall Thompson was born on February 28, 1987 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Florida Marlins selected him 22nd overall in the 2005 MLB Draft. He often struggled while coming up through the minors, and spent time in three different organizations before finally debuting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011. Thompson allowed six runs over 7.2 innings as a rookie. They removed him from the 40-man roster during the off-season.

He was signed to a minor league deal by the Minnesota Twins on December 15, 2011. Thompson was 3-8 with a 5.83 ERA for the New Britain Rock Cats (AA) in 2012, making 13 starts and nine relief appearances. Minnesota made him a full time reliever in 2013. He split the year between Double-A and Triple-A, posting a 2.76 ERA with nine saves. Thompson continued to pitch well at the Triple-A level in 2014, earning a big league opportunity when the rosters expanded in September. He pitched 7.1 innings over seven appearances, and six of those outings were scoreless. The Cleveland Indians were able to score two runs against him on September 21st.

Thompson broke camp with the Twins in 2015, and was included on their Opening Day roster. He got off to a strong start, and rookie manager Paul Molitor even trusted him in some high leverage spots. Thompson had a 2.18 ERA with six holds over his first 18 appearances, allowing just 16 base runners over 20.2 innings. His first Major League win came on June 4th against the Boston Red Sox, but Thompson slowed down a bit after that. He allowed runs in three of his next four appearances. Later in the month, Thompson allowed four runs without getting an out during a June 21st outing against the Chicago Cubs.

Minnesota opted him back to Triple-A in early July, and he finished out the season there. They released him towards the end of spring training in 2016.

Thompson never pitched in the Majors again, but continued to play professionally through 2017.

• Often credited as being the first Major League player to have a "man bun" hairstyle