Top Yankees pitching prospect on 21-inning scoreless streak in Single-A

The Yankees have a potential pitching crisis coming when it comes to homegrown talent. Maybe that was one of the reasons why they felt comfortable taking a calculated gamble on Carlos Rodon this past winter.

New York’s best pitching prospect within the organization — according to MLB.com — is Drew Thorpe. He’s showing everyone why that’s the case with the Single-A Hudson Valley Renegades.

Thorpe, who will turn 23 in October, was selected by the Yankees in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The 2023 season is his first as a professional, and it’s been going great. Across 64.2 innings, the right-hander is 6-1 with a 2.64 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and 79 strikeouts.

His season has reached another level thanks to his performance in June, though. Thorpe has twirled three straight scoreless outings, which has equaled 21 innings total. He’s allowed just nine hits and four walks during that time while striking out 27 hitters. His opponents are hitting .130/.178/.159 during this time.

Thorpe had just one scoreless outing in eight tries before this streak began. But it’s not like he was performing badly through his first 43.2 innings. He posted a 3.92 ERA with 52 strikeouts. Opposing hitters were slashing .261/.333/.385 against him.

Yea, it seems like he’s settling in quite nicely. Here’s a peek at his latest domination, which happened on June 18th at home against the Rome Braves:

6 IP
3 H
0 R
2 BB
8 K

Drew Thorpe, the @Yankees top-ranked pitching prospect, spins his third scoreless outing in a row for the @HVRenegades — he has a whopping 27 K's over 21 IP in that span: pic.twitter.com/MQPQgZOq88

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 18, 2023

And if you’re looking to see some of the organization’s top talent in one place, High-A Hudson Valley is a good place to go catch a game if you’re in the area.

The New York Yankees currently have five of MLB's Top 30 prospects with High-A Hudson Valley:

Spencer Jones (3)
Drew Thorpe (6)
Matt Sauer (20)
Zach Messinger (22)
Juan Carela (29)

— Gershon Rabinowitz (@GershOnline) June 20, 2023

You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.