Based on covering him in 2024, White Sox right-hander Drew Thorpe is a stoic individual, and any glimpse of emotion or whimsy in a professional setting is a relative explosion of emotion for him.
So a quip about the start time of his ACL rehab outing last weekend, two scoreless innings almost two years removed from his last recorded game, should say plenty about how pleased he is to be moving past Tommy John surgery last April, elbow tendinitis in spring and an emergency appendectomy in May.
"10 a.m. starts should be illegal, but I’ll take it," Thorpe said with a smile(!!!). "The changeup is still there, so we are all good there. The [new] sinker has been a good work in progress so I’m excited to see how it plays."
But then again, Thorpe was likely pitching through bone spurs for much of 2024, so the hope is that the best and most ebullient version of the 26-year-old right-hander is yet to come. And the hope is that after going under the knife as many times as Thorpe has, the structural causes to why he's struggled to feel at his best would be addressed by now, and he seems to have that going for him.
"In the last month or so, I’ve been bouncing back a lot better than I was earlier on in the throwing program and build up process and everything, so I’m in a really good spot right now," Thorpe said. "I’m in Winston now. Throw here this week [Friday] and then I’ll go three innings this week, hopefully that goes well and then four innings, four innings and five innings. Start the whole buildup process."
It's not like there's a guaranteed rotation spot waiting for him upon arrival, and earlier this month Paul Janish said that it was probably going too far to promise that Thorpe would return to the majors in 2026. But this rehab schedule would suggest that he can, maybe even by August, and Thorpe is in agreement. For someone whose only major league experience is pitching hurt for pretty much the worst team ever, the idea that he might finally be working his way back to the most upbeat White Sox clubhouse in recent memory is worth cracking a smile or two.
"I feel awesome, to touch the mound again, be in a game," Thorpe said. "[The team has] been incredible. It’s fun to watch. Yeah, they are playing really well. Team chemistry looks really good. I felt it a little bit in spring training, just being around the guys. I knew we had a good group. It’s really fun to see them all put it together."
Maybe really putting it all together could still include Thorpe. Relying on a relatively unproven starter who danced around a vulnerable fastball before being sidelined for two years isn't how contenders usually address rotation needs that after Tuesday night, seem more pressing than Thorpe’s slow burn rehab schedule. On the other hand, the big thing about competing in the playoffs is that it eventually boils down to all hands on deck.
Charlotte 7, Norfolk 6
- Rikuu Nishida went 2-for-4 with a walk.
- Everson Pereira was 1-for-2 with a walk.
- Austin Hays homered, singled and struck out twice.
- Ryan Galanie went 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Tim Elko is back in Charlotte: 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- David Sandlin: 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 34 of 61 pitches for strikes.
- Duncan Davitt: 2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
- Tanner McDougal: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 10 of 17 pitches for strikes.
Montgomery 13, Birmingham 4
- Boston Smith was 0-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout.
- Caleb Bonemer homered, singled twice and struck out once.
- Anthony DePino was 1-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Colby Shelton was 0-for-3 with a sac bunt and a strikeout.
- Samuel Zavala wore the collar and silver sombrero.
- Connor McCullough: 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 36 of 68 pitches for strikes.
- Mathias LaCombe: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 10 of 16 pitches for strikes.
Greensboro 6, Winston-Salem 1
- Kyle Lodise struck out thrice during an 0-for-4 night.
- Ryan Burrowes was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base.
- Jeral Perez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow, 0-for-4.
Columbia 7, Kannapolis 4
- Jaden Fauske went 1-for-3 with a walk, HBP and a strikeout, and was caught stealing.
- Billy Carlson, 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
- Javier Mogollón, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Matthew Boughton went 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.
- Alexander Albertus doubled, singled, walked and struck out.
- Christian Gonzalez was 0-for-3 with a sac fly and a strikeout.
- Blaine Wynk: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 32 of 45 pitches for strikes.
ACL Reds 4, ACL White Sox 2 (7 innings)
- Jose Mendoza went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
- Alejandro Cruz was 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base.
DSL White Sox 9, DSL Blue Jays Blue 4 (7 innings)
- Carlos Vielma returned to action, going 1-for-2 with three walks.
- Fernando Graterol was 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Sebastian Romero singled, walked twice and struck out once.
- Ronald Cardozo went 1-for-2 with a walk and a sac fly.
- Felix Lebron singled, walked and struck out twice.
