Thompson, 23, made seven starts for short-season Lowell this season, surrendering seven runs (four earned) over 11.1 innings and striking out 11.
Since he had already accumulated 128.2 innings during his senior season with Oregon State before being selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round in the first-year player draft in June, Thompson only tossed a handful of abbreviated outings in his first exposure to professional ball. While it's hard to make many sweeping conclusions about the small sample, the 23-year-old might have pitched well enough in the New York-Penn League to warrant an assignment to a full-season affiliate to begin 2018.