Drew Thorpe on his way to the bigs?
Ready or not, here he comes ...
Rumors trickled across on Twitter Sunday afternoon that the Chicago White Sox are calling up RHP Drew Thorpe from Double-A Birmingham.
Pedro Grifol announces that Drew Thorpe is being called up to the majors. He's penciled in to start on Tuesday.
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) June 9, 2024
Thorpe, 23, who is widely considered the prize of the Dylan Cease trade with the San Diego Padres, would join the South Siders after a stellar start of the season with the Barons. The righthander has gone 7-1 in 60 innings pitched, starting 11 games and posting a 1.35 ERA with 56 strikeouts and a 0.87 WHIP. It’s nearly impossible to pitch any better than that, at any level.
While nothing is official yet, this move is certainly newsworthy. Thorpe is the White Sox's No. 3 prospect, the No. 41 overall prospect in Baseball America’s rankings, and No. 43 overall at Just Baseball.
Pumped to see Drew Thorpe get the call, he did not have much else to prove in the Minor Leagues. Since the start of the 2023 season (A+/AA):
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) June 9, 2024
199.1 IP, 2.17 ERA, .191 OBA, 238 K, 55 BB
Opponents have hit just .138 against his changeup in that span with a 50%(!!) in zone whiff% pic.twitter.com/GHFzUmsDYz
Drew Thorpe getting the call for his MLB debut on Tuesday.
— Eric Cross (@EricCross04) June 9, 2024
2024 (AAA): 11 GS, 60 IP, 1.35 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 7.6% BB, 25% K#WhiteSoxpic.twitter.com/k0hyOGomku
Thorpe would be making the jump to the bigs after only two months in Birmingham. Can he get major league hitters out with a low-90s fastball and wicked changeup?
Closest comp I could find was John Means. Like no vertical separation so it looks just like the heater as you alluded to but just enough velocity separation and fade to get guys to swing over it. Like you said WEIRD, but man, it works!
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) June 9, 2024
Being compared to John Means is certainly a compliment to the young pitcher. Another comparison is that his work on the mound is reminiscent of Lucas Giolito, perhaps even better than the Giolito we saw in his time with the White Sox.
Yeah! Means comes to mind. His pretty Giolito-y but even Giolito’s CH didn’t have this much vert.
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) June 9, 2024
We will eagerly wait for this news to be official, and if the news proves true, to see what Thorpe can do against a playoff-contending Seattle Mariners team on Tuesday.
Welcome to the show, Drew!