Former Cal Poly pitcher Drew Thorpe to make his MLB debut today
Drew Thorpe, a former star Cal Poly pitcher, was expected to make his Major League Baseball debut on Tuesday with the Chicago White Sox.
Thorpe is the No. 3 White Sox prospect and No. 54 prospect overall, according to MLB Pipeline. Thorpe was expected to start against the Seattle Mariners.
The 23-year-old was traded from the San Diego Padres organization to Chicago during spring training in March as part of a deal involving multiple players.
Thorpe, of St. George, Utah, has posted an impressive 7-1 record with a 1.35 ERA in Double-A Birmingham this season. He has recorded 56 strikeouts.
The New York Yankees selected Thorpe in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft, signing him to a $1.18 million bonus. The Yankees traded Thorpe to the Padres in December 2023 before he was dealt to the White Sox again in March.
Thorpe doesn’t throw hard by MLB standards, with a fastball generally between 91 to 94 mph. He uses his changeup effectively to get batters out.
“With the lower velo, I tend to watch guys that don’t throw as hard,” Thorpe told MLB.com during an April interview, naming Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitcher Zac Gallen as one source of inspiration. “And I always grew up watching Max Scherzer, but definitely different repertoires.”
Thorpe’s call-up now makes him one of several former Cal Poly players currently playing MLB baseball.
The others are: Justin Bruihl (Pirates), Spencer Howard (Giants), Mitch Haniger (Mariners) and Bryan Woo (Mariners).
Woo, a right-handed pitcher from Oakland, is having a standout season thus far, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.07 ERA.
Other former Mustangs players have had MLB promotions in recent years, including Mark Mathias and Erich Eulman, both of whom are playing in the minors currently.
Brooks Lee, the highest Mustang ever drafted at No. 8 overall in 2022, is hitting .346 in 52 at-bats with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints in the Twins organization.
Lee, Cal Poly Coach Larry Lee’s son, suffered a back injury in Spring Training and had a two-month rehab stint before resuming his minor league season. He was diagnosed with a herniated disk.
With other Twins teammates promoted to MLB to replace injured players earlier this season, Lee might have been called up by now if he had been healthy.
““It sucks, but I don’t spend too much time dwelling on what could have been,” Lee told twinsdaily.com in an interview. “I just try to focus on what’s needed each day, and I know my career will start when the time is right.”
Lee was named the Twins’ 2023 minor league player of the year.
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