Drew Thorpe, who broke Cal Poly's single-season record for strikeouts a year ago, leads the South Atlantic League in the same category for the Hudson Valley Renegades this summer.
Mustangs in the Pros: Thorpe Racking Up the Strikeouts Again
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Drew Thorpe, Cal Poly's all-time leader in strikeouts after a stellar 2022 campaign in which he went 10-1 with a 2.32 ERA, continues to produce eye-popping numbers in professional baseball.
Thorpe picked up his South Atlantic League-leading sixth victory of 2023 on June 18 against Rome, tossing six scoreless innings and allowing just three hits with eight strikeouts, then pitched 7 2/3 innings last Sunday in a no-decision versus Brooklyn, giving up one run and three hits with seven strikeouts. He is 6-1 for the season.
On June 11 against Jersey Shore, the right-hander from Washington, Utah, just outside St. George, set a Hudson Valley Renegades record with 12 strikeouts over seven scoreless frames. Thorpe is second in the Sally League with his 86 strikeouts, first in innings pitched (72 1/3), fourth in ERA (2.49) and fifth in opponents' batting average (.213), including a .180 mark against right-handed hitters.
Thorpe did not play last summer in the Yankees' farm system after throwing 104 2/3 innings at Cal Poly. This spring, the Yankees took a different approach with Thorpe, assigning him to advanced Class A Hudson Valley after a strong showing in spring training.
"I think I performed pretty well in spring training, and it just led into starting in High-A, and it has gone well for me thus far," Thorpe told Gershon Rabinowitz of Baseball Prospect Journal. "I'm just trying to go out there and do my job as best as possible.
"It was nice to begin my pro career in High-A and skip a level," Thorpe added. "I am sort of challenging myself in my first year in pro ball. You never know what to expect. I'm still staying within myself. I know what I can do, so I am sticking to that."
Thorpe embraced the challenge by meeting or exceeding most expectations. His early success at Hudson Valley and aptitude for making quick adjustments affirm his status as the top pitching prospect in the Yankees organization.
"There was a bit of an adjustment, obviously. Hitters in pro ball definitely have a better feel for the zone and not swinging out of the zone as much, so that was one thing that I had to adapt," said Thorpe, drafted in the second round by the Yankees (the 61st overall selection) last summer.
"In college, you get a lot of swings and misses out of the zone, and here (in pro ball), it shortens up a little. As I move up in the system, I am sure it will shorten up even more. It is more about developing my stuff and trusting that it will result in swing and miss both in the zone and out of the zone."
As the season has progressed, Thorpe has become more dominant on the mound and a formidable challenge for the opposition. By June, Thorpe was seemingly untouchable, pitching 21 consecutive scoreless innings across three starts and striking out 27 hitters in that span.
Thorpe became the first Hudson Valley pitcher since 2008 to pitch eight shutout innings in a start on June 4. He followed that up with his minor league career-high 12 strikeouts in his next outing against Jersey Shore.
"I think the key has been sticking to my plan every week, coming into every start and continuing to develop," Thorpe explains. "Each start under my belt helps me settle in a little bit more and get into the rhythm of everything.
"I'm feeling good based on the last couple of the starts. I just keep pitching and working. Getting more starts and more innings in pro ball is very helpful, especially as I'm facing more hitters (in the league). We're doing a lot of things mechanically and just trying to get better each day."
Preston Claiborne is in his third season as a pitching coach in the Yankees organization and his first with Hudson Valley. A pitcher for the Yankees in 2013 and 2014, Claiborne works with pitchers on coming into every outing with a plan and giving feedback on their performances on the mound.
"He gives us a lot of feedback (as a staff), and we work really well together," Thorpe said. "He helps all of our guys, and I think that is one of the main reasons why we have been so dominant this year. It is the help that we have been getting from him and all of our coaches.
"Strikeouts are big, so it is the one thing we are looking for around here (in Hudson Valley). We always come into every start with a plan and try to execute it as best as possible. It is very individualized, and each pitcher has different stuff and different velocities, so you can't look at each pitcher the same because we each have different stuff."
Thorpe's ascendance as a pro is a culmination of the work that began at Cal Poly. In college, he was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and was also the first player at Cal Poly to win the Big West Pitcher of the Year award.
Thorpe, 17-8 with a 3.03 ERA and 284 strikeouts over 223 innings in three seasons as a Mustang, worked diligently at the nuances of pitching during his time at Cal Poly and gradually became more adept at his craft as the years passed.
"In college, I was just trying to get bigger and stronger and work hard on the mound," he said. "I came to the school as a two-way guy. I was going to be in the rotation my freshman year, so I stopped hitting and put my primary focus on pitching, and everything just took off from there.
"We messed around with my slider going into my junior year. I didn't really have one during my freshman and sophomore years. I was just using the fastball and the changeup, and once I developed a slider, it was much more helpful because I now had two out pitches to work with to get guys out."
Unlike many pitchers who use their fastball to rack up high strikeout totals, Thorpe's specialty is an above-average changeup with late movement that works as an out pitch late in the counts. Scouts considered his changeup one of the best in last year's draft, and its effectiveness translated to the pro game.
Thorpe also mixes in a slider that moves at both corners of the plate. Both off-speed pitches enable his mid-90s fastball to work more effectively and keep the hitter from focusing on one particular pitch.
"The fastball plays up a little bit more with my other pitches, and there will be some at-bats where I can pitch backward and use the fastball late, and I think that has been helpful as well," Thorpe said.
"I think all three pitches work hand in hand and help me keep hitters off balance and out of rhythm. Most of the strikeouts will come off off-speed pitches, but it also depends on the hitter, and it depends on the count. It is situational."
Thorpe's breakout, along with the efforts of his counterparts, shows the confidence the Yankees have in their pitching prospects as they continue to bolster their minor league system.
"It's been great to start in High-A and continue to develop, and it is nice that the Yankees see something in me by starting me here in pro ball," Thorpe said. "It has been good so far. A goal for me is to keep taking these steps, so I am ready when I have a chance to go up to Double-A and then see how different things will be as I make my way through the system."
Other noteworthy performances by former Mustang baseball players in the last two weeks ...
• Bryan Woo is 1-0 with a 2.18 ERA in his last four starts on the mound for the Seattle Mariners. He earned his first Major League victory against the New York Yankees on June 22 at Yankee Stadium, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings with two hits, no walks and five strikeouts. Woo also gave up just one earned run over five innings in a no-decision Tuesday against the Washington Nationals, striking out seven.
Justin Bruihl throws a pitch for Oklahoma City.
• Outfielder Nick Torres is hitting .340, No. 21 in the Mexican League, for the Laguna Vaqueros. Torres also is No. 3 in doubles (18), No. 7 in hits (71), No. 8 in RBIs (42) and No. 16 in home runs (10). He hit .382 in May and has 22 multiple-hit games this season.
• Jason Franks earned his first victory of 2023 on June 17 against Carolina with two scoreless innings and a pair of strikeouts. He has allowed just three runs in his last 11 outings on the mound (13 2/3 innings) for Low-A Augusta, lowering his ERA from 10.80 to 6.33.
• Brooks Lee is hitting .265 with 23 doubles, five home runs and 36 RBIs over 62 games at Double-A Wichita. He has produced 20 multiple-hit games and is first in the Double-A Texas League with his 23 doubles, 15th with 65 hits and 21st in RBIs.
• Justin Bruihl is 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 12 relief appearances at Triple-A Oklahoma City with one save and one hold. He has pitched in 14 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season with a 1-0 record, 4.41 ERA and one hold.
• Andrew Alvarez, 4-1 with a 2.53 ERA at Wilmington, tossed six innings, allowing one run and two hits with four strikeouts in a no-decision against Aberdeen on June 20.
Several other Mustangs are injured or have been involved in recent transactions.
• After a stellar 2022 campaign at Double-A Arkansas, Taylor Dollard has made just three appearances on the mound for Triple-A Tacoma this year and is scheduled for upcoming surgery on his right shoulder labrum. He posted a 16-2 record, 2.25 ERA and 131 strikeouts over 144 innings with the Travelers last summer and was named by Baseball America as the Seattle Mariners' Minor League Player of the Year.
• Erich Uelmen has not pitched since June 4 and was placed on the seven-day Injured List on June 5. The Phillies have not announced what the specific injury is nor when they expect him to return, according to an official with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Uelmen pitched one inning in relief for the Phillies against his old club, the Chicago Cubs, on May 19 and was sent back to Lehigh Valley the next day.
• Mark Mathias was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on June 25 after the Pirates acquired pitcher Andre Jackson from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations. Mathias, who played in 15 games for the Pirates from April 10 through May 8 and seven more from June 2-19, hit .231 in the Majors and .273 in 31 games at Triple-A Indianapolis. Losing his spot on the Pirates' 40-man roster, Mathias could remain with Indianapolis if he passes through waivers unclaimed.
• Mitch Haniger has been transferred to the 60-day Injured List by the San Francisco Giants after he was hit by a pitch and fractured his right forearm in a game at St. Louis on June 14. Haniger underwent surgery last week and the Giants estimate he could return in 10 weeks. If his rehab goes well, there's a chance Haniger could return for the final month of the regular season in September.
Haniger, who missed the first three-plus weeks of the 2023 season due to an oblique injury suffered in spring training, has a .230 average with four home runs and 22 RBIs in 40 games with the Giants this year.
• Alex McKenna, hitting .247 with 12 RBIs in 22 games at Triple-A Sugar Land, hit a two-run home run against the Sacramento RiverCats on June 14. He has not played since June 18 after he was transferred to the Development List for the purpose of development and/or conditioning.
• Spencer Howard, who made one start for the Texas Rangers on June 9 against Tampa Bay after missing the first two months of the 2023 season due to arm fatigue, has made two appearances on the mound for Triple-A Round Rock, both two-inning stints against El Paso. He allowed one run and two hits with two strikeouts on June 14 and two runs and two hits with three strikeouts on June 18.
• Bradlee Beesley of the Double-A Tennessee Smokies is still sidelined since being struck in the face by a pitch May 25.
Cal Poly has had a record six players in the Major Leagues at one time or another this season -- Haniger with the Giants, Woo with the Mariners, Howard with the Rangers, Mathias with the Pirates, Uelmen with the Phillies and Bruihl with the Dodgers.
Follow the progress of all former Mustangs in professional baseball by clicking the link at the top of the page.
Thorpe's ascendance as a pro is a culmination of the work that began at Cal Poly. In college, he was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy and was also the first player at Cal Poly to win the Big West Pitcher of the Year award.
