Mustangs in the Pros Update
8/26/2026 6:30:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Chicago White Sox, who finished 51 games out of first place in the American League's Central Division standings two years ago and 28 games shy of the top spot in 2025, are 2 1/2 games in front of the Cleveland Guardians with 30 games left to play this season.
The question for Cal Poly baseball fans is will former Mustang right-hander Drew Thorpe get a chance to contribute to the 2026 White Sox pennant drive.
In seven rehab starts this summer following three operations for the removal of bone spurs in August 2024, Tommy John surgery in April 2025 and an appendectomy last May, Thorpe is 1-0 with a 3.04 ERA and 28 strikeouts over 26 2/3 innings.
Thorpe has made one start each with the rookie Arizona Complex League White Sox and Single-A Winston-Salem, two starts for Double-A Birmingham and three for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. He is scheduled to make at least one more start Sunday against Memphis.
Facing Memphis on Tuesday, Thorpe allowed two runs and six hits over 4 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking one. He finished one out shy of his second rehab win as his pitch count reached 87, including 53 strikes.
Thorpe is hoping to return to the White Sox roster soon, but he has some competition.
The fifth spot in the Chicago pitching rotation is currently occupied by Jose Urquidy, who has recovered from a pair of Tommy John surgeries to make one start and two relief appearances in August after making 20 starts in the minors.
Also in the mix are Davis Martin (9-6, 4.32 ERA in 24 starts), who was placed on the 15-day injury list earlier this week with a blister on his right middle finger; Erick Fedde (6-8, 4.18 ERA in 12 starts and 16 relief appearances); and Jonathan Cannon, who was 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA at Charlotte before being called up Tuesday to replace Huascar Brazoban (left lat strain).
Thorpe made nine starts for the White Sox in 2024, posting a 3-3 mark and 5.48 ERA over 44 1/3 innings, before the spate of surgeries over the next 23 months.
Meanwhile, Brooks Lee smashed his second career grand slam August 16 against Philadelphia at Target Field. It was in the first inning for a 4-0 lead, but the Twins couldn't hold on, falling 5-4 to the Phillies. Lee's first grand slam was on almost the same date in 2025, August 17, against Detroit, nearly to the same spot in the right field beachers at Target Field.
Lee currently sports a .247 batting average with 21 doubles, three triples, 20 home runs and 69 RBIs over 127 games. He has 28 multiple-hit contests, including five three-hit games and a 4-for-6 performance June 20 at Arizona, his second career four-hit contest.
Lee is second on the Twins in hits (116), doubles (21) and RBIs (69), third in home runs (20) and fifth in runs scored (58). His splits include a .285 average on the road, .333 on turf fields, .500 with the bases loaded (9-for-18), .351 with runners at first and second, .306 in the ninth inning and .323 when ahead in the count.
Seattle's Bryan Woo, a near-perfect 7-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 69 strikeouts over 64 1/3 innings at home, earned just his second road win August 16 at Houston, scattering three hits over six innings with five strikeouts. Woo is 2-8 with a 5.96 ERA away from T-Mobile Park, striking out 68 batters over 74 innings.
Woo missed his last scheduled start Saturday with discomfort in his right shoulder, but is expected to start Wednesday night at home against Philadelphia.
Andrew Alvarez has suffered three straight losses for the Washington Nationals despite his ERA dropping from 4.22 to 3.72 over his last five starts and one relief appearance. For the year, Alvarez is 2-6 with a 3.72 ERA and 80 strikeouts over 84 2/3 innings.
Justin Bruihl continues his stellar work out of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen, shrinking his ERA from 5.56 on May 23 to 3.34 this week. He has allowed just 12 runs in his last 32 appearances on the mound (41 1/3 innings).
Taking a look at former Mustangs in the minor leagues ...
• Zach Daudet has been on a tear over his last 10 games, going 11-for-30 (.367) at Asheville with three doubles and five RBIs. Daudet has lifted his average to .220 with 17 doubles, three home runs and 34 RBIs in 96 games.
Daudet hit .279 in June and had a 3-for-4 game at Brooklyn with two doubles and three RBIs on Aug. 22.
• Alejandro Garza has hit safely in seven of his first eight games with the Hill City Crawdads and currently sports a .344 average with three doubles and four steals. He has four two-hit games so far, including three in a row Aug. 14-18-19.
• Ryan Tayman has cooled off after his pro debut when he collected four hits, including a home run on the first minor league pitch he saw July 28. Tayman has a .259 average in 15 games with the St. Lucie Mets, driving in eight runs.
• Taylor Dollard is 5-9 with a 5.67 ERA in 19 starts and one relief appearance with the Everett AquaSox, striking out 80 batters over 92 innings.
• After a two-month stint on the injury list, Ryan Stafford returned to the field for the Frederick Keys on Aug. 25 and went 0-for-2 against Asheville that night. Stafford is hitting .176 this season with 22 hits, including four doubles and two home runs, and he has knocked in 17 runs.
• Steven Brooks made the jump from Single-A Greenville to Double-A Portland (Maine) on Aug. 7 and is 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA for the Sea Dogs. He has 12 strikeouts over 9 2/3 innings.
• Bryce Warrecker is 1-0 with a 4.39 ERA in 22 mound appearances at Hudson Valley. He has struck out 26 batters over 26 2/3 innings.
• Luke Kovach is 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA in five trips to the mound for the Florida Complex League's Blue Jays.
• Jakob Wright has not pitched since July 31 and is on the injury list with the Great Lakes Loons. Derek True has not pitched for the Corpus Christi Hooks since May 9 due to injury. Jake Steels was released from the Rome Emperors on June 7 while Jack Collins was released by the Hickory Crawdads on August 4.
Three ex-Mustangs are playing internationally ...
• Spencer Howard has won his last two starts for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Nippon Professional League. His record for the season is 3-2 with a 1.31 ERA in six appearances on the mound with 40 strikeouts over 34 1/3 innings.
On Aug. 14, the 2014 North San Luis Obispo County High School Player of the Year out of Templeton High School pitched seven innings in a 1-0 shutout of Chunichi, allowing two hits and one walk with eight strikeouts, then last Friday tossed five scoreless frames in a 2-0 win over Hiroshima, giving up four hits and one walk with four strikeouts.
• Nick Torres was hitting .400 in 17 games with the Union Laguna Algodoneros but has not played since mid-August. He was 26-for-65 at the plate with seven doubles, four home runs and 18 RBIs. Torres played 40 games for the New York Yankees' Double-A Somerset Patriots, hitting .247 with four doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs, before he was released July 9.
• Erich Uelmen is 4-10 with a 6.24 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Saltillo Saraperos in the Mexican League. He has notched 72 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings but has not pitched since early August.
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