White Sox right-hander Drew Thorpe is about to bear season-ending surgical procedure to take away a bone spur from his proper elbow, as relayed by MLB.com’s Scott Merkin. Merkin provides that the membership announcement particulars that Thorpe, who has been on the injured listing the previous month on account of a flexor pressure, is anticipated to be prepared for Spring Coaching with no restrictions.
Thorpe made loads of headlines this winter when he was included in not one however two separate blockbuster trades over the offseason. First, the Yankees swapped their second-round choose from the 2022 draft to the Padres as a part of the bundle that introduced Juan Soto to the Bronx. Simply three months later, Thorpe was on the transfer but once more as he was shipped to Chicago with a purpose to deliver right-hander Dylan Stop to San Diego. The hype surrounding Thorpe that led him to be included in two of final winter’s largest trades was based mostly in his standing as a consensus top-100 prospect who had simply completed up a dominant 2023 season with the Yankees that noticed him put up a 1.48 ERA in his first style of Double-A motion down the stretch.
Upon suiting up for the White Sox for the primary time again in April, Thorpe was despatched again to the Double-A stage and continued to show the dominance he had proven throughout his time with New York. In 60 innings of labor throughout 11 begins, Thorpe posted a 1.35 ERA regardless of his strikeout fee dropping from the eye-popping 34% fee he flashed with the Yankees final 12 months to a extra pedestrian 25%, and by the point the calendar flipped to June the White Sox determined that Thorpe wanted a much bigger problem. Fairly than promote him to the Triple-A stage and take a look at him there, the membership opted to advertise him on to Chicago. Thorpe impressed in his first large league begin as he struck out 4 throughout 5 innings of one-run ball, although his second outing towards the Diamondbacks noticed the right-hander enable seven earned runs on six hits and 5 walks in 3 1/3 innings of labor.
The ups and downs of Thorpe’s first two begins would proceed all through his first style of massive league motion. He rattled off a stretch of 5 glorious begins all through the tip of June and begin of July the place he posted a microscopic 1.23 ERA regardless of a diminished 17.9% strikeout fee that stood out as a possible purple flag. These considerations promptly got here to go, as what would show to be Thorpe’s remaining two begins of the 12 months noticed him lit as much as the tune of a 22.24 ERA as he surrendered 14 runs on simply 5 2/3 innings throughout the pair of outings. In that point, he allowed 4 walks and 4 dwelling runs whereas hanging out only one batter.
Given these deep struggles, it’s maybe considerably reassuring that the heralded prospect has been coping with important bodily points that would assist to elucidate not solely his lackluster 5.48 ERA in his first style of massive league motion but additionally the diminished strikeout charges he posted all through his first 12 months within the White Sox group. That relative lack of strikeouts was paired with a fastball that averaged simply 91.1 mph within the majors this 12 months, a noticeable lower in comparison with scouting experiences that famous his means to routinely sit at 92 and contact 95 together with his heater.
With the White Sox within the midst of a misplaced season wherein they’re flirting with the worst report in main league historical past and Thorpe at the moment anticipated to be prepared for motion in time for Spring Coaching subsequent 12 months, maybe the teenager’s upcoming surgical procedure is an indication that followers on the south aspect have a wholesome, more practical Thorpe to stay up for subsequent 12 months. Within the meantime, the Sox determine to depend on a rotation that includes Garrett Crochet, Jonathan Cannon, Chris Flexen, Nick Nastrini, and Davis Martin down the stretch.
