Zach Thornton (baseball, born 2002)
American baseball player (born 2002)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zachary Charles Thornton (born January 17, 2002) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB).
| Zach Thornton | |
|---|---|
| New York Mets – No. 49 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: January 17, 2002 Winona, Minnesota, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 20, 2026, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics (through July 21, 2026) | |
| Win–loss record | 1–1 |
| Earned run average | 1.93 |
| Strikeouts | 17 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
Amateur career
Thornton attended Lawrence Free State High School in Lawrence, Kansas. He played two seasons of college baseball at Barton Community College before transferring to Grand Canyon University for the 2023 season. In his lone season at Grand Canyon, he started 15 games and went 9–2 with a 3.87 ERA.[1] After the season, he participated in the MLB Draft League.[2]
Professional career
Thornton was selected by the New York Mets in the fifth round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.[3] He signed with the team for $350,000.[4]
Thornton made his professional debut in 2024 with the Single-A St. Lucie Mets and was promoted to the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones in August. Over twenty games (12 starts) between the two teams, he went 5–4 with a 4.10 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 68 innings. He returned to Brooklyn to open the 2025 season and was named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month in April.[5] He was promoted to the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies in late April and earned Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors in May.[6] Thornton made 14 starts between the two teams, going 6-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 78 strikeouts over 72+2⁄3 innings before an oblique injury ended his season in June.[7] Thornton returned to Binghamton to open the 2026 season and was promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Mets in early May.[8] Across seven starts between both teams, Thornton pitched to a 1-3 record, a 3.16 ERA, and 40 strikeouts across 37 innings.[9]
On May 18, 2026, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza announced that Thornton would be promoted to the major leagues to take the roster spot of Clay Holmes, who had been placed on the injured list.[10] On May 20, his contract was formally selected to the 40-man and active rosters.[11] He made his MLB debut that night as the Mets' starting pitcher at Nationals Park against the Washington Nationals. Thornton pitched 41⁄3 innings in which he gave up four earned runs (including a three-run home run to CJ Abrams), four hits, and two walks alongside recording three strikeouts in an 8-4 Mets loss.[12]