Trent Thornton
Trent Edward Thornton (born September 30, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Trent Thornton | |||
---|---|---|---|
Thornton with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 | |||
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 57 | |||
Pitcher | |||
Born: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | September 30, 1993|||
| |||
MLB debut | |||
March 31, 2019, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||
MLB statistics (through 2020 season) | |||
Win–loss record | 6–9 | ||
Earned run average | 5.06 | ||
Strikeouts | 155 | ||
Teams | |||
|
High school and college
After graduating from Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, North Carolina,[1] Thornton played college baseball at the University of North Carolina for the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman he went 12–1 with a 1.37 ERA in 29 games,[2] as a sophomore he went 7–4 with a 2.73 ERA in 16 games, including 14 starts.[3] In 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Firebirds of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4] As a junior, he went 3–7 with a 5.08 ERA in 28 appearances (four of which were starts).[5] After his junior year, he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fifth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft[6] and he signed.
Professional career
Houston Astros
Thornton made his professional debut that season with the Short Season-A Tri-City Valley Cats and spent the whole season there, going 4–0 with a 3.27 ERA in 15 games (12 starts). In 2016, he played for the Advanced-A Lancaster JetHawks and the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, compiling a combined 10–5 record with a 3.52 ERA in 24 games (21 starts), and in 2017, he pitched for Corpus Christi and the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, posting a 9–6 record and a 5.21 ERA in 25 games (23 starts) between the two clubs.[7] He spent 2018 with Fresno. He was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for June 11–17 after pitching 72⁄3 scoreless innings in which he allowed only one hit (given up with two outs in the eighth inning) to go along with two walks.[8] In 24 games (22 starts) for the Grizzlies, Thornton went 9–8 with a 4.42 ERA.[9]
Toronto Blue Jays
On November 17, 2018, Houston traded Thornton to the Toronto Blue Jays for Aledmys Díaz.[10] The Blue Jays added him to their 40-man roster a few days later.[11] After participating in 2019 spring training, it was announced that Thornton had made the Opening Day roster on March 26.[12] He made his MLB debut on March 31, starting against the Detroit Tigers. He produced five shutout innings, and his eight strikeouts established a new franchise record for strikeouts in an MLB debut.[13] Thornton earned his first career win on May 14 at the San Francisco Giants, allowing two runs and striking out seven in 52⁄3 innings. He also had two hits and scored two runs in the interleague game, which Toronto won 7–3.[14]
With the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Thornton appeared in 3 games, compiling a 0-0 record with 11.12 ERA and 6 strikeouts in 5.2 innings pitched.[15]
References
- "10 Charlotte Area Baseball Players Now in Minor League Baseball". Charlotte Baseball Report. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- "Astros Future Interview: Trent Thornton · Astros Future". astrosfuture.com. December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- "UNC Baseball Off To Hot Start". keepingitheel.com. February 20, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- "Trent Thornton - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- "On different route to pros". Times Union. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- "MLB draft selection an emotional moment for Ardrey Kell, UNC pitcher Trent Thornton". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- "Trent Thornton Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- "Trent Thornton named PCL Pitcher of the Week". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- "Trent Thornton Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- "Jays swap Diaz to Astros for pitcher". MLB.com. November 17, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
- Armstrong, Laura (November 20, 2018). "Blue Jays exercise right to not share arms". thestar.com. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- "Urena, Luciano, Pannone make Jays' Opening Day roster". TSN.ca. March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- Chisholm, Gregor (March 31, 2019). "Thornton's club mark comes in bittersweet loss". MLB.com. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- Longley, Rob (May 15, 2019). "Blue Jays phenom Vlad Guerrero Jr. blasts first two home runs". torontosun.com. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- https://www.mlb.com/player/trent-thornton-663423
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Trent Thornton on Twitter
- Trent Thornton on Instagram