So, I starte .rof d digging. First thing I did was jump on to find some game footage. I wanted to see him pitch, not just read about it. I found a few games, some against the Mariners' minor league affiliates, which was perfect for the "Drew Thorpe vs Mariners" angle I was going for.
I started with a game from earlier this season. I loaded it up and started watching. The first thing that jumped out at me was his changeup. Man, that thing is nasty. It just drops off the table. I was focused on how he used. It is not just a show pitch. He's throwing it for strikes, and the Mariners' hitters were clearly having trouble with it.
- First Inning Observations: Mostly fastballs and changeups. He located well, stayed down in the zone. Got a couple of swinging strikes on the changeup.
- Middle Innings: Started mixing in a slider a bit more. Not as consistent as the changeup, but it had some good bite when he got it right.
- Late Innings: Seemed to tire a little. Lost some command, and a couple of fastballs leaked out over the plate. But he battled, got a couple of key outs with the changeup again.
I watched a couple more games after that, looking for patterns. Same thing, more or less. The changeup is the main weapon. The fastball is decent, sits low 90s I think. The slider needs work, but it's got potential.
My Overall Takeaway
The kid's got good stuff. I think he's definitely got the potential, and I can see why the White Sox were excited to get him. I grabbed some more box scores, looked at his stats across different levels. The numbers back up the eye test: good strikeout rates, low walk rates, generally keeps the ball in the park.
The changeup is clearly his best pitch, and that's the pitch that's going to make or break him at the higher levels, I think. If he can keep developing that slider, and maybe add a tick or two to the fastball, he could be really good.
This deep dive into Drew Thorpe's performance against the Mariners got me all set. I feel like I have a real good picture what his future is going to look like. I'm excited to see what he does when he finally gets the call to the big leagues!
