The New York Yankees have an arm to watch at High Class-A Hudson Valley in Drew Thorpe — as long as he’s there, that is.
On Sunday while pitching for the Renegades Thorpe — the Yankees’ No. 6 overall prospect — threw seven innings and struck out 12 in a 1-0 win over the Jersey Shore BlueClaws.
At one point, Thorpe struck out the side in the fifth inning. His 12 strikeouts set a franchise record at Hudson Valley, dating back to 2005.
By game’s end he threw 92 pitches, gave up five hits, no runs and walked nine.
Sunday’s performance was better than his last start on June 4, but that was a hard start to top. In that game, he went eight innings, giving up one hit, no runs, two walks and struck out seven.
He now carries a 15-inning scoreless streak into his next start.
Thorpe is pitching like it’s time for a call-up to Double-A in his first professional season. He’s 5-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 10 starts with 71 strikeouts and 20 walks.
In his 10 starts, Thorpe has recorded at least seven strikeouts. Before his 12-strikeout game, he had 10 strikeouts against Rome on April 23.
The Yankees drafted Thorpe in the second round of last year’s MLB Draft out of Cal Poly. After three college seasons — the last of which he went 10-1 and was named Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year — the Yankees gave his arm a rest after his draft selection.
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