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The humor admittedly is dark, but it fits. You see, the more Cardinals left-hander Zack Thompson’s words from Winter Warm-Up rattle around in the brain, the more a Monty Python scene comes to mind.

It’s as if Cardinals fans, eager to latch onto the next up-and-coming prospect with high upside, have hoisted Thompson over their shoulder ready to . Meanwhile, Thompson protests meekly, “I’m not dead.�

Thompson, now at the ripe old age of 27, acknowledged that he has quickly become the last of class. Members of his cohort, prospects who were making their way through the Cardinals’ farm system at the same time as Thompson, have either made their mark or have flipped the page and moved on to other organizations.

Thompson was the 19th player picked in the that included Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams, Blue Jays pitcher Alek Mahoah, Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll and (20th pick), and Thompson knows there’s likely not a lot of sand remaining on his hourglass with the Cardinals.

“My wave has kind of come and gone,� Thompson said in a matter-of-fact manner. “We’ve got guys like Quinn (Mathews), (Michael) McGreevy, Gordon (Graceffo), Sem (Robberse), Tekoah (Roby), Tink (Hence). All these guys are coming, and they’re all nasty. So it’s going to be exciting to see those guys get their chance.�

While Thompson clearly understands his standing and the changing landscape within the organization’s pitching corps, he’s also not packing up his gloves and cleats and calling it a day. He changed his offseason training program, reconnected with a coach, and relocated to Sarasota, Florida.

None of that means he’ll definitely experience the breakout campaign that will solidify him as part of the Cardinals’ future, but that would be a great little yarn.

There’s really nothing like seeing a guy find success after folks seemingly had given up on him ever realizing the lofty potential previously forecast.

That competitive dissonance, the need to prove doubters wrong, is one of the inspiring things about sports. It’s the reason guys always make ridiculous claims that “nobody believed we could do it except the guys in this locker room� when in reality they were heavily favored to win. The narrative is so captivating that guys create it where it doesn’t exist.

In Thompson’s case, the narrative already has taken shape.

Go back to ’s . The top five players were outfielder Dylan Carlson, infielder Nolan Gorman, left-handed pitcher Matthew Liberatore, catcher Ivan Herrera and Thompson.

The Cardinals traded Carlson to Tampa Bay last summer. The Rays non-tendered him in November, and he signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles last week. Gorman led the Cardinals with 27 home runs in 2023, but he struggled last season. The Cardinals have committed to getting Gorman everyday playing time in 2025.

Liberatore, once thought of as a rotation option, became a key piece of the bullpen last season. The Cardinals moved veteran Willson Contreras to first base in part to clear room for Herrera and Pedro Pages to take over the catching duties.

Pages and Thompson were part of the same draft class in 2019. Right-hander Andre Pallante and left-hander Connor Thomas were also part of that class. The Brewers selected Thomas in December’s Rule 5 draft.

Last season, Pallante made the leap that Thompson had seemed poised to make.

Pallante, like Thompson in previous years, had found a place on the major-league roster as a reliever. But then Pallante went back to the minors last season to stretch out as a starter and made himself a critical part of the club’s starting pitching plans with his performance upon his return to the majors.

“It’s fun, but at the same time when you see all the guys you came up with are either in St. Louis or, unfortunately, a lot of them have moved on as well,� Thompson said of being the last guy standing from his wave of Cardinals prospects.

“I mean, it’s a weird feeling. It’s cool knowing that a lot of those guys have made it. They’re sticking. They’re part of the young core here. It’s been a weird shift seeing those guys come and go and then seeing this next generation come.�

While the Cardinals have newer, younger names on the pitching front, Thompson continues to hang around. He’s still on the 40-man roster, and he’s got a minor-league option remaining.

He showed signs he should be a strong rotation candidate at the end of the 2023 season despite yo-yoing between starter and reliever as well as between the majors and the minors. He earned the chance to jump into the starting rotation last spring when Sonny Gray started the season on the injured list.

Unfortunately for Thompson, he made just two starts and appeared in five total games in the big leagues — and posted a 9.53 ERA with a 1.88 WHIP — before he spent the rest of last season in the minors.

He’ll go into camp this spring and stretch out as a starter, initially. He’ll be ready for whatever role may present itself.

During Winter Warm-Up, Thompson sounded cautiously optimistic that he’d gotten to the bottom of the issues last season that robbed him of some velocity (his average fastball was 90.7 mph in the majors in 2024).

Thompson’s ability or inability to put himself back in the forefront of Cardinals pitching conversations will be one of the more intriguing things to follow.

“It takes an opportunity, then taking advantage of the opportunity,� Thompson said. “I’ve had opportunities here in the last few years and I haven’t taken it and run with it. It’s up to me to go out and perform if I get an opportunity this year.�

Cardinals fans, he’s not done quite yet.