Mustangs in the Pros Update
9/17/2026 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
SAN LUIS OBISPO,Calif. — The Chicago White Sox have made some moves with their pitching staff this week while pursuing the American League's Central Division title. Unfortunately for Cal Poly baseball fans, the late-season plans do not include former ace moundsman Drew Thorpe.
At least not yet.
Thorpe, who made nine starts for the southside Chicago team in 2024 before his Major League career suffered a series of setbacks resulting in three surgeries over a 23-month span, has mounted a comeback in 2026 with 10 rehab appearances in the minor leagues.
So far, so good.
Over his last eight rehab outings between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte, Thorpe is 2-0 with a 2.39 ERA. He has completed five innings in four of his six starts with Charlotte and has thrown as many as 87 pitches in a single outing.
Thorpe is now 23-3 with a 2.28 ERA over 44 career minor league starts. As the White Sox search for answers in their starting rotation -- they did not announce a starter for Thursday's game until late Wednesday night -- it’s getting increasingly difficult to justify keeping him in the minor leagues.
Schultz made his MLB debut for the White Sox on April 14 and got his career off to a promising start through four outings. With his ERA sitting at 6.06 in August, however, the White Sox decided to option him back to the minor leagues and give him an opportunity to continue his development.
During his most recent stint with Charlotte, Schultz pitched between four and five innings nearly every time he took the mound. Over five starts, he totaled 21.2 innings with a 1.66 ERA, earning this week's callup.
Designating Urquidy for assignment also cleared an important spot on the 40-man roster. The White Sox were in a dilemma as they were facing a mandatory decision to activate Thorpe from the 60-day injury list by Wednesday and needed an open 40-man roster spot to do so.
So, what did the White Sox do? After his 10th rehab start Tuesday in which he allowed two runs and three hits over 4 1/3 innings against the Norfolk Tide at Harbor Park Stadium in Norfolk, VA, Thorpe was activated by Chicago on Wednesday and then was optioned back to Charlotte, where he is now expected to complete the year.
Thorpe has struck out 38 batters over 41 innings during his rehab assignment. His fastball velocity has been back to where it was before the surgery, at about 91 miles per hour, and he’s still generating whiffs on his changeup at a solid rate.
The White Sox are a half-game behind Cleveland after the Guardians won two of three games against Chicago at Progressive Field in Cleveland earlier this week. Chicago hosts third-place Detroit for four games this weekend while Cleveland hosts the Athletics for three contests.
After posting a 3-1 record and 3.00 ERA in his first seven Major League starts, Thorpe surrendered 14 runs and 13 hits in his final two starts before he was sidelined in August 2024 and underwent surgery to remove bone spurs in his right elbow. He missed all of the 2025 campaign following Tommy John surgery in April 2025. His comeback in 2026 was slowed by a bout with appendicitis in May, finally returning to the mound in the minors on July 18.
Under the collective bargaining agreement between Major League team management and players, pitchers can normally spend a maximum of 30 days on a minor league rehab assignment. There is, however, a special provision for players rehabbing from UCL reconstruction surgery. Those pitchers can consent to as many as three consecutive 10-day extensions of the standard 30-day rehab period, pending approval from the commissioner’s office and MLBPA.
That allows for a maximum rehab assignment of 60 days. Thorpe’s rehab assignment officially ended Wednesday, the 60th day of his rehab.
If 10 rehab starts seems like a lot, that’s because it is. Taking a look at other pitchers that have returned from Tommy John this season indicates as much. Tigers righty Jackson Jobe made five rehab starts before returning to Detroit. The Astros brought Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesnesky back after five rehab starts apiece. Gerrit Cole made six rehab starts before making his season debut with the Yankees.
Other Mustangs in the Majors ...
Seattle's Bryan Woo and Washington's Andrew Alvarez recorded strong outings Saturday.
Woo continued his strong September run by allowing one unearned run and three hits over six innings in the Mariners' 19-1 win over the Athletics in West Sacramento. He struck out five and walked two, lifting his record against the A's to 10-1 and lowering his ERA to 1.86 in 12 career starts.
Woo, 12-9 with a 3.88 ERA this season, is 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA in three September starts, striking out 21 batters over 20 innings. He is 8-1 with a 2.36 ERA at home and 4-8 with a 5.23 ERA on the road. His numbers in opposing stadiums have improved in his last four road starts in which Woo is 3-0 with a no-decision and a 1.17 ERA.
Alvarez made his 15th start of the season for the Nationals against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and tossed seven scoreless frames with just one hit allowed. He walked four and struck out eight in the no-decision. Washington won 6-5 in 10 innings.
A week earlier, Alvarez, a graduate of Los Alamitos High School, pitched at Dodger Stadium, about 25 miles from his hometown, for the first time and struck out five in 4 1/3 innings of another no-decision. The lefty allowed three runs and four hits.
On Aug. 30 at home against Miami. Alvarez tossed six scoreless frames with two hits and three walks allowed while striking out six. Miami erased a 2-0 deificit with six runs in the ninth inning for a 6-2 victory.
Alvarez is 2-6 with a 3.35 ERA and 99 strikeouts over 102 innings this year, his second in the Majors.
Infielder Brooks Lee sports a .246 average with the Minnesota Twins, playing 100 games at third base and 48 at shortstop. His numbers also include 23 doubles, three triples, 23 home runs and 79 RBIs.
Lee's average at the plate has fluctuated between .238 and .254 ever since the middle of June and he has 33 multiple-hit contests, including six 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 RBIs (79), third in hits (134), doubles (23) and home runs (23) and fourth in runs scored (66). His splits include a .279 average on the road, .333 on turf fields, .526 with the bases loaded (10-for-19), .325 with runners at first and second, .328 in the fourth inning and .321 when ahead in the count.
Relief pitcher Justin Bruihl is 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA and 11 holds with the St. Louis Cardinals. Bruihl has struck out 52 batters over 73 2/3 innings. His ERA was 5.56 on May 23 but the Santa Rosa native has allowed just 17 earned runs over his last 42 appearances (50 1/3 innings) on the mound.
In the Minor Leagues ...
• After going on a tear in which he went 11-for-30 (.367) at Asheville with three doubles and five RBIs, Zach Daudet cooled off a bit, finishing his first full minor league season with a .208 average, including 18 doubles, three home runs and 35 RBIs in 104 games.
Daudet hit .279 in June and had a 3-for-4 game at Brooklyn with two doubles and three RBIs on Aug. 22. He was elevated to Double-A Corpus Christi for four games in September, going 2-for-10 with three runs scored.
• Alejandro Garza hit safely in 15 of his 18 games with the Hill City Crawdads this season, finishing with a .347 average which included seven doubles, a triple, 15 RBIs and 10 steals in 11 attempts. He had eight two-hit games, including three in a row Aug. 14-18-19, produced a nine-game hitting streak and capped his first pro season with a double and two singles against Salem on Sept. 6.
• Ryan Tayman posted a .316 batting average for the St. Lucie Mets in the Florida State League, collecting five doubles, five home runs and 17 RBIs in 21 games this summer. His pro debut on July 28 featured four hits, including a home run on the first minor league pitch he saw, and Tayman went 12-for-22 (.545) in his last six games with three doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs.
• Taylor Dollard is 5-9 with a 5.59 ERA in 20 starts and one relief appearance with the Everett AquaSox, striking out 81 batters over 93 1/3 innings. He finished the year on the seven-day injury list, last appearing in a game August 26.
• After a two-month stint on the injury list, Ryan Stafford returned to the field for the Frederick Keys on Aug. 25. He closed out his third pro season with a .179 average this season with 25 hits, including five doubles and two home runs, and he knocked in 15 runs in 47 games.
• Steven Brooks made the jump from Single-A Greenville to Double-A Portland (Maine) on Aug. 7 and finished 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA for the Sea Dogs. He recorded 22 strikeouts over 18 innings and did not allow a run in his final four relief appearances (6 1/3 innings). Brooks was 4-4 with a 4.27 ERA in 29 relief appearances at Greenville.
• In 25 appearances on the mound, all in relief, at Hudson Valley, Bryce Warrecker was 1-0 with a 3.71 ERA. He struck out 33 batters over 34 innings and did not give up more than one earned run in his last 10 outings (17 2/3 innings). He saved the best for last, tossing a season-high three innings without giving up a run and notching four strikeouts against Wilmington on Sept. 5.
• Luke Kovach was 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA in five trips to the mound for the Florida Complex League's Blue Jays.
• Jakob Wright did not pitch since July 31 and was on the 60-day injury list with the Great Lakes Loons. He was 4-5 with a 6.63 ERA in 17 games (12 starts), notching 67 strikeouts over 55 2/3 innings.
• Derek True did not pitch for the Corpus Christi Hooks since May 9 due to injury. His numbers included a 2-2 record and 6.93 ERA with 18 strikeouts over 13 innings (nine games, all in relief).
• Jake Steels was released from the Rome Emperors on June 7 while Jack Collins was released by the Hickory Crawdads on August 4.
• Casey Murray Jr. played 17 games for the independent Glacier Range Riders of Kalispell, Mont., in the Pioneer League this summer, hitting .246 with 14 hits in 57 at-bats. The outfielder produced three doubles, four RBIs and four steals in six attempts.
Three ex-Mustangs played internationally ...
• Spencer Howard posted a 3-3 win-loss record and 1.93 ERA in seven starts on the mound for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan's Nippon Professional League. The Templeton High School graduate notched 42 strikeouts over 37 1/3 innings.
On Aug. 14, the 2014 North San Luis Obispo County High School Player of the Year pitched seven innings in a 1-0 shutout of Chunichi, allowing two hits and one walk with eight strikeouts, then seven days later tossed five scoreless frames in a 2-0 win over Hiroshima, giving up four hits and one walk with four strikeouts.
• Nick Torres hit .400 in 17 games with the Union Laguna Algodoneros, going 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 was 4-10 with a 6.24 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) for the Saltillo Saraperos in the Mexican League. He notched 72 strikeouts in 79 1/3 innings.
