Drew Thorpe’s first Charlotte start gave the White Sox something to watch.
After more than two seasons in the organization and 24 total appearances with the White Sox, including nine in Chicago, Thorpe finally made his Knights debut in Rochester on Aug. 13. It came in his fifth outing of the season as he continued working back from Tommy John surgery, and the line was exactly what Charlotte wanted to see: five innings, one run, three hits, six strikeouts and no walks.
The finish was even a little cleaner than the box score suggests. Thorpe left with the game still manageable, and Rochester tacked on 12 runs in the three innings after he was done. He also threw 52 of 76 pitches for strikes and issued just one wild pitch.
The changeup was the headline pitch again. Thorpe leaned on it more than anything else and got eight whiffs on 17 swings.
The rest of the mix, though, still looks like a work in progress. His fastball averaged 90.8 mph, the same number he sat at in 2024, and neither the cutter nor the slider made much of a dent.
That’s been part of the concern before, too, with the two breaking balls blending together.
It’s still a small sample, and that matters. But for one night, Thorpe looked like a pitcher settling back into a normal rhythm, and that alone makes the next few turns in Charlotte worth tracking.
The rest of the affiliates delivered a full slate of mixed results.
In Birmingham’s 4-3 loss to Columbus, Caleb Bonemer kept piling up numbers, going 3-for-5 and finishing a double short of the cycle. He also stole a base.
Anthony DePino reached twice with a 2-for-3 night, adding a double and two walks. Ryan Burrowes went 1-for-3 with a walk, sac bunt and strikeouts, Colby Shelton struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance, and James Taussig finished 2-for-4 with a strikeouts.
Bonemer’s homer was his 19th with Birmingham and his 30th overall this season. MLB Pipeline also noted that he became just the second 20-year-old to reach the 30-homer mark this season, and he’s now homered three times in his past five games for the Double-A Barons.
Winston-Salem fell 7-2 to Greensboro despite a few solid individual nights. Javier Mogollón went 2-for-4 with a walk, George Wolkow was 2-for-5, and Kyle Lodise also went 2-for-5 with a double, two strikeouts and a stolen base.
Jeral Perez doubled, walked and struck out twice. Roch Cholowsky went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts, while Nick McLain was 0-for-4 with an HBP and three strikeouts.
On the mound, Seth Keener worked one inning and allowed one run on two hits, while Max Banks struck out two in a scoreless inning.
Kannapolis edged Hickory 5-4 behind a strong day from Matthew Boughton, who went 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. Alexander Albertus added a 1-for-3 line with a walk and a stolen base, while Jaden Fauske went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Truman Pauley handled five innings, allowing one run on five hits with seven strikeouts.
In the DSL, the White Sox outlasted the Pirates Black 10-9 in seven innings. Fernando Graterol went 4-for-5 with a homer, Sebastian Romero was 1-for-5 with a homer and two strikeouts, Felix Lebron singled and struck out three times, Samuel Luis went 1-for-4 with a double and a strikeout, and Ronaldo Cardozo walked in a pinch-hit appearance and scored.
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