Mustangs in the Pros Update
8/13/2026 4:30:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — In a few days, Drew Thorpe could be back in a Chicago White Sox uniform for the first time in more than two years.
Making his fifth rehab appearance on the mound following three operations, including Tommy John surgery in April 2025, Thorpe threw 76 pitches over five innings and allowed one run and three hits with no walks and six strikeouts for the Charlotte Knights in a Triple-A International League game Wednesday night at Rochester.
At ESL Ballpark in Rochester, N.Y., Thorpe left the game after five innings with the score tied at 1-1. The host Red Wings exploded for 12 unanswered runs in the late innings for a 13-1 victory and Thorpe was not involved in the decision.
Thorpe was pitching in a Triple-A game for the first time in his professional career. He jumped from Double-A Birmingham straight to the White Sox in July 2024 and made nine starts on the mound, posting a 3-3 win-loss record and 5.48 ERA.
Thorpe's first Major League season ended early to have a bone spur removed from his right elbow in August 2024. He eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2025, costing him the entire campaign, and also had an appendectomy to deal with this past May.
Thorpe's comeback was back on track when he made his first rehab start in the Arizone Complex League on July 18, pitching two scoreless innings with one hit and three strikeouts. He also made one rehab start for High-A Winston-Salem and two more for Birmingham before his Wednesday stint against Rochester.
In five rehab games, Thorpe is 0-0 with a 2.65 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 17 innings.
“Yeah, yeah, for sure. I feel really good. The outing (in Arizona) went really well,” Thorpe said after his performance for the ACL White Sox. “In the last month or so, I’ve been bouncing back a lot better than I was earlier on in the throwing program and buildup process and everything. I’m in a really good spot right now.
“Obviously, it has been what feels like forever. It was good to touch the mound again in somewhat of a game. It’s a good start and just keep building from there,” Thorpe added.
The White Sox have not officially announced Thorpe's future plans, but the fifth spot in the starting rotation is open. Jose Urquidy and Jonathan Cannon have both pitched well of late for Charlotte, giving the southside Chicago team more options.
Thorpe has minor-league options remaining, so the White Sox could stash him at Charlotte once his rehab window closes and he needs to be activated from the 60-day injured list.
Thorpe was a consensus All-American at Cal Poly and finished first in NCAA Division I in strikeouts during the 2022 regular season, posting a 10-1 record and 2.23 ERA.
He tied a school Division I record with 15 strikeouts over seven innings against UC San Diego and broke the school’s all-time single-season strikeout mark with 149. He struck out 10 or more batters nine times in his 15 starts as a junior and four more as a freshman and sophomore.
In three seasons at Cal Poly (2020-22), Thorpe was 17-8 with a 3.03 ERA, a .212 opponent batting average (tied for Division I school record), 284 strikeouts (12 shy of the overall record) over 223 innings and 11.46 strikeouts per nine innings (school Division I record).
The White Sox sit in first place in the American League's Central Division, 3.5 games ahead of Minnesota and Detroit and four games in front of Cleveland, following Wednesday's 5-0 win over Cincinnati.
If all continues to go well for Thorpe, he is hoping to be an August or September addition for a team pushing toward the postseason.
“I think so, but that’s up to them,” Thorpe told White Sox Beat's Scott Merkins. “I’m just taking it day by day and doing what I can, but I feel like I’m in a really good spot right now. Just have to build up. That’s how it goes. I’m ready to go.”
“Personally, with Drew and him going through what he’s gone through over the last couple of years, would absolutely love to see it for him,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Would love to see it for us. If he’s capable of doing it and somebody that gives us a better chance to win, that’s something we’d all jump at.”
Four other former Mustangs are playing in the Major Leagues this summer.
Infielder Brooks Lee has put together a four-game streak of two hits each and the 8-for-17 (.471) clip at the plate has lifted his average to .247 with the Minnesota Twins. Lee has 27 multiple-hit games this season, including a four-hit game June 20 at Arizona.
Lee is second on the Twins' roster in hits (106) and RBIs (62), third in doubles (19) and home runs (17) and fifth in runs scored (53). He is hitting .283 in road games, .333 on turf fields, .317 versus right-handers, .364 with runners on first and second bases, .471 with the bases loaded (8-for-17), .324 in the ninth inning and .328 when ahead in the count.
Right-hander Bryan Woo has made two August starts on the mound without giving up a run with 10 strikeouts over 12 innings in a victory against Detroit (five innings) at home and a no-decision versus the New York Yankees (seven innings).
Woo, 8-8 overall with a 4.15 ERA and 132 strikeouts over 132 1/3 innings with the Seattle Mariners, has been stellar at T-Mobile Park with a 7-0 record and 1.96 ERA in 10 starts. He was 1-8 with a 6.93 ERA in 12 starts on the road before his seven scoreless frames against the Yankees on Tuesday.
Woo and former Mustang outfielder Mitch Haniger have been named to Lookout Landing's top 50 Mariners in the club's 50-year history.
Southpaw Andrew Alvarez is 2-3 with a 3.76 ERA in nine starts and eight relief appearances for the Washington Nationals. Alvarez has struck out 65 batters in 69 1/3 innings and earned a four-inning save May 20 against the New York Mets. His first four starts this season were no-decisions and Alvarez also has no-decisions in his last four starts despite giving up just seven earned runs in 20 1/3 innings (3.10 ERA).
Middle reliever Justin Bruihl has lowered his ERA from a season-high 5.56 to 3.32 pver his last 27 appearances on the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals. Bruihl has allowed just 10 runs in 36 1/3 innings (2.48 ERA) since May 23 and is 0-0 with a 3.32 ERA, nine holds and 41 strikeouts over 59 2/3 innings in 54 games this season.
In the minors and elsewhere ...
Spencer Howard has returned to the mound for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League after spending nearly four months on the injury list with Achilles tendonitis in his right leg.
Howard earned his first win of 2026 July 31 with seven scoreless innings versus Yokohama DeNA, scattering three hits with six strikeouts, then suffered a loss to Yakult on August 7 though he gave up just one earned run and one walk with eight strikeouts over seven innings.
For the season, Howard is 1-2 with a 1.93 ERA in four starts with 28 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.
Nick Torres is back in the Mexican League after his release from the Double-A Somerset Patriots on July 9. The outfielder was 14-for-30 (.467) in his first eight games at Somerset before he was placed on the injury list for six weeks and never returned to form as his average slipped to .247 in 23 June games and four more contests in July.
Now playing for Union Laguna in his seventh Mexican League season, Torres sports a .400 average in 17 games, going 26-for-65 with seven doubles, four home runs and 18 RBIs.
Pitcher Erich Uelmen also has gone the international route, compiling a 4-10 record and 6.24 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Saltillo Serapes in the Mexican League. Uelmen has logged 72 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings.
Alejandro Garza made his professional debut Tuesday for the Hill City Howlers in the Carolina League. Playing second base, the Bakersfield native went 1-for-4 with a single. As a designated hitter Wednesday, the Cleveland Guardians prospect was 1-for-3 with another single. Both games were played at Myrtle Beach, Florida.
Catcher Ryan Tayman is hitting .387 for the St. Lucie Mets in the Florida State League with 12 hits in 31 at-bats, including two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in eight games. Tayman had four hits in his pro debut July 28 versus Dunedin, added three hits against Jupiter on Tuesday and singled twice versus Daytona Beach on August 7.
Pitcher Steven Brooks has been promoted to the Double-A Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs.
Brooks was 4-4 with a 4.27 ERA and six saves in 29 appearances on the mound for the Greenville Drive, striking out 71 batters in 46 1/3 innings, before he was called up to Portland on August 7. He has pitched a pair of two-inning stints for the Sea Dogs, including a scoreless outing Wednesday against Binghamton.
Pitcher Taylor Dollard is 5-8 with a 5.61 ERA in 19 appearances (18 starts) on the mound for the Everett AquaSox. Dollard has struck out 76 batters over 86 2/3 innings. He has earned wins in three of his last four starts against Eugene on July 23, Vancouver on August 6 and and Spokane on Wednesday.
Against Vancouver, Dollard went seven innings for the second time this season, allowing a run and two hits with three strikeouts. After a stellar Double-A season at Arkansas in 2022, Dollard missed 25 months following labrum surgery in 2023.
Southpaw Jakob Wright is 4-5 with a 6.63 ERA in 17 appearances on the mound for the Great Lakes Loons, striking out 67 in 55 2/3 innings. He has not pitched since July 31 and is on the seven-day injury list.
Right-hander Bryce Warrecker has made 19 appearances on the mound for Hudson Valley and earned his first win of the year July 19 against Brooklyn with one scoreless inning and one strikeout.
Warrecker is 1-0 with a 4.64 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 21 1/3 innings at Hudson Valley after pitching in six rehab assignment games for the Tampa Tarpons (no runs in nine innings, five strikeouts).
First baseman Zach Daudet owns a .205 average for the Asheville Tourists and his 55 hits include 14 doubles, three home runs and 29 RBIs in 87 games. After hitting .063 in his first nine games, Daudet was able to elevate his average to .205 by hitting .279 in June but fell back with a .196 mark in July and .125 in six August games so far.
Pitcher Luke Kovach, drafted in 2025 by Toronto, finally made his pro debut with five trips to the mound in the Florida Complex League in July. He is 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA in one start and four relief appearances, striking out nine over five innings. Kovach fanned three FCL Yankees in one scoreless inning July 7, his first pro game.
Catcher Jack Collins played three games for the Hickory Crawdads, going 2-for-10 with two RBIs, before he was transferred to the Development List on July 25 and released August 4.
Outfielder Jake Steels was hitting .213 in 15 games with the Rome Emperors, collecting 10 hits and nine RBIs, before his release June 7.
Catcher Ryan Stafford has been on the injury list since July 2 after hitting .179 with four doubles, two home runs and 17 RBIs for the Frederick Keys.
Pitcher Derek True has not pitched for the Corpus Christi Hooks since being placed on the injury list May 9. He was 2-2 with a 6.92 ERA in nine relief appearances and 18 strikeouts in 13 innings.
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