Traded for Juan Soto and Dylan Cease, Drew Thorpe will now star for White Sox originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Chicago White Sox prospect Drew Thorpe is set to take the mound Tuesday night against the Seattle Mariners, but as he prepares to make his MLB debut, it’s worth taking a look back at the wild journey he’s been on to reach the big leagues.
Thorpe is the third-ranked prospect in the White Sox system, and at just 23 years old and with a total of 16 starts at the Double-A level, he hopes to revive a team that has so far had some setbacks. this season.
White Sox fans would be forgiven if Thorpe wasn’t on their radar before this season, as he was a highly touted prospect in the New York Yankees system after being selected in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft.
All he did in his first pro season was soar through High-A and Double-A in the Yankees system, posting a 14-2 record, a 2.52 ERA and striking out 182 batters in 139.1 innings of work.
His career took a quick turn in December when he was included in the blockbuster trade that netted the Yankees the services of outfielder Juan Soto, while that deal saw several other prospects go to the San Diego Padres.
Thorpe didn’t have much time to find real estate in San Antonio or El Paso, the Padres’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, as he was involved in yet another blockbuster transaction in March 2024. The Padres sent him to the White Sox as part of the package needed to acquire top pitcher Dylan Cease from the South Siders, landing Thorpe in yet another organization.
Needless to say, the White Sox considered Thorpe a key part of the deal. He entered the season ranked among the top 50 baseball players according to Baseball Prospectus, and was also on the Top-100 prospect lists for Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
His dominant pitching performance as a pro continued in the White Sox organization, posting a 7-1 record and a 1.35 ERA in 11 starts this season with the Double-A Birmingham Barons. He has 56 strikeouts in 60 innings and has a WHIP of just 0.87 this season.
Thorpe is expected to be activated by the White Sox ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, with first pitch set for 8:40 PM on NBC Sports Chicago.
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