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 | |
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![]() Thornton with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 | |
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 57 | |
Pitcher | |
Born: (1993-09-30) September 30, 1993 (age 29) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
March 31, 2019, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |
Win–loss record | 7–14 |
Earned run average | 4.84 |
Strikeouts | 244 |
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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 selected by the Houston Astros in the fifth round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft and he signed.[6]
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]
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 three games, compiling a 0-0 record with 11.12 ERA and six strikeouts in 52⁄3 innings pitched.[15] In 2021 with the Blue Jays, he pitched to a 1-3 record and 4.78 ERA with 52 strikeouts over 49 innings.[16]
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