Prospect Profiles: Drew Thorpe update after 10 K performance

 

6-foot-4

190-pounds

Right-handed starting pitcher

22-years-old

Draft: 2nd round of the 2022 draft out of California Polytechnic State University


The Yankees now have a robust system in place for their draft. Vice-president and Director of Amateur Scouting Damon Oppenheimer has assembled a team of scouts, development coaches, and analytic staff to consult about every pick. In the case of Drew Thorpe, the three came together to determine that he was grossly underrated in the second round of the 2022 draft.

The analytics team liked his accuracy, spin rates, and movement, though felt he needed more velocity. The development team looked at his size and mechanics and determined they could get more velocity and movement out of his frame. The scouts loved his bulldog mentality on the mound, ability to get through lineups multiple times, and the way his pitches generate bad swings. It was a no brainer once he fell to the Yankees in round two.

Thorpe had a successful season in 2021 where he threw 90.1 innings and had a 3.79 ERA with 104 K : 38 BB. He then played in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League where he was again successful in 10 innings across two appearances, letting up just one run. In 2022, he exploded and had a huge season. He threw 104.2 innings and had a 2.32 ERA with 149 K : 25 BB.  

With a fastball that sits in the 90-93 range and touches 94, Thorpe already knows what he has to do as a professional. He has been up to 97 mph in the past, and the Yankees development team will attempt to get him back up to that level in the future. With his size and projection, that’s likely to happen. The changeup was one of if not the best in college baseball. He has a slider and curveball which are already average or above and will be optimized in the Yankees system. His command and control are plus.

With some fine tuning of the secondary stuff in addition to strength and conditioning, Thorpe has the potential to be a great starting pitcher in the major leagues.

Thorpe began the season in High-A. Somewhat surprisingly, his fastball velocity still sits in the low-90’s this season. The performance has been good. He has a 3.52 ERA and 25 K : 7 BB in 15.1 innings pitched. He could stand to cut down on the walks, but his impressive strikeout rate more than makes up for that.

We will be monitoring him closely as the season progresses and are expecting big things. It could be a quick path to the majors for Thorpe.

Comments

  1. DayneApril 24, 2023 at 11:49 AM

    great write up Greg, you've always been phenomenal info source

    ReplyDelete

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