Drew Thorpe

Thorpe arrived at Cal Poly unsure whether he’d be a third baseman, catcher or pitcher, but after coach Larry Lee saw Thorpe’s changeup, he quickly put him on the mound. Thorpe went on to start three years in the Mustangs rotation, including the last two as their Friday night starter, and pitched in both the Cape Cod League and for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team last summer. Thorpe is one of the most accomplished and polished pitchers in the draft class. He has a strong, durable 6-foot-4 frame and throws three pitches for strikes with plus control. His fastball sits 89-93 mph and maintains its velocity deep into starts. His 82-83 mph slider improved this spring to become an above-average pitch that gets swings and misses both in and out of the zone and his 81-84 mph changeup is a devastating, plus-plus offering batters can’t touch even when they know it is coming. Thorpe’s fastball is straight and hittable, so he pitches off his secondaries and will sometimes go entire innings without throwing a single fastball. His arm speed has slowed because he’s so secondary-heavy, costing him velocity at times. Thorpe will have to establish his fastball better as a pro to reach his back-of-the-rotation potential. His polished three-pitch mix, control and durability have him in top-two rounds consideration.