GDT: We May Never lose Again. (4/4) Tigercats vs Jays

[Spanky99]

Anyone else surprised about how good Brandon Drury has been at 3B?

 

Not surprised as he said it's his natural position, IIRC.

[BTS]

94 on the black again for the K

[Corporal Valdal]

Not surprised as he said it's his natural position, IIRC.

 

Yeah in the offseason he said he was elite at 3B and thats where he wanted to be! If he can continue this has do you not Put Vlad at 1B?

[Jonn]

Good for Thornton I love it. Shocked 8 K’s is the record but good stuff

[Orgfiller]

What an outing.

[gruber92]

Atta boy Trent

[Grant77]

Anyone else surprised about how good Brandon Drury has been at 3B?

 

He looked really good when we saw him there last year. Hopefully his bat can match the defense.

[Jonn]

Its to bad he wasn’t stretched out more. Would have loved to see how far he could go.

 

24 shutout innings by the starters incredible. Nobody saw that coming.

[Spanky99]

Unfortunately for us Matt Moore is also dealing.

 

He's looked impressive, has the velo up.

[P2F]

I'm just gonna leave this here.

 

‘You’re there because you belong’: Trent Thornton will finally get his big-league moment with Blue Jays

 

 

 

Before every practice, Hal Bagwell assembles his high school baseball team for a meeting. Recently, during one of those sessions, the head coach of Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, N.C., stood in front of his players and told them he had a very big announcement to make.

 

“Trent Thornton,” he started, “is now active on the Opening Day roster with the Toronto Blue Jays.”

 

The room erupted in cheers.

 

“That’ll tell you about what they think about him,” the coach said this week over the phone.

 

Thornton might be a new name to Blue Jays fans — there are many on this roster who are — but back home in Charlotte, the 25-year-old right-hander has a growing fan club at his alma mater.

 

During his high school career, Thornton was dominant as a pitcher and a pretty good hitter too, his former coach said. Years after graduating, Thornton still throws there in the offseason and, according to Bagwell, is generous with his time and his resources, often providing the kids with equipment and clothing.

 

“Ardrey Kell means something to him, and that means a lot to me because of that,” Bagwell said. “Because he’s a big part of our culture and our history, of who we are. I use him as an example all the time about hard work and dedication.”

 

And because of that hard work and dedication, Thornton will now get the chance to make his major-league debut as the Blue Jays’ starting pitcher in Sunday’s series finale against the Detroit Tigers. To get here, Thornton had to persevere.

 

Before he arrived in Toronto via a trade in the offseason, he was buried in the minors under an all-star rotation in Houston. Before that, he faced doubts about his size — he is generously listed at 6-feet in his Blue Jays bio — and his unorthodox mechanics.

 

But through the years, Thornton has kept in regular touch with his high school coach. As Thornton played through three years of college baseball at the University of North Carolina and four more in the minor leagues, Bagwell often told him to keep believing that one day, he would get his shot to pitch in the majors.

 

“There was no doubt in my mind that it was going to happen because of his will and what he’s made up of,” Bagwell said.

 

In fact, he saw a potential big-league pitcher even when Thornton was a teenager.

 

Back then, Thornton was maybe 150 pounds. But his commanding presence on the mound left an impression on Bagwell. In those years, Thornton’s fastball sat at about only 88 to 91 mph — he works between 93 and 95 now — but his offspeed stuff was advanced for his age. His command was, too, his former coach said.

 

“You knew he was going to have a chance to play for money because he just had that. He had the poise, nothing ever rattled him. … His biggest and greatest strength is his competitiveness,” said Bagwell, who has coached baseball for 24 years.

 

Thornton also had his funky delivery then. Growing up, Thornton admired Nolan Ryan’s windup. He decided he wanted to be a throwback on the mound, too. When he winds up to pitch, Thornton’s front leg comes up so high his foot is nearly level with his head. When his high school coaches saw it, they decided to leave it alone. After all, there was nothing mechanically wrong with it.

 

“We figured if we tried to change things, he wouldn’t be who he was,” Bagwell said.

 

And by being who he is this whole time, Thornton now finds himself in the major leagues. When Bagwell and Thornton spoke shortly after the pitcher was given the news, his former coach reminded him of that fact.

 

“I said, ‘Trent, you can always say you played in the big leagues, buddy,’” he said. “‘Just take this for what it’s worth. Don’t try to be anything you’re not: Trent Thornton got you there, just be you. Because that’s what it is. In other words, don’t try too hard. Don’t make it more than it’s not. You’re there because you belong, buddy.’ And I think he realizes that.”

 

---

Moments before he was about to make Thornton’s dream come true, Matt Buschmann wondered if he should be funny or sincere.

 

“(Blue Jays assistant GM) Joe Sheehan was there and I said, ‘Is this like the “Wedding Crashers” thing where you try to be funny or do you be sincere?’” Buschmann said, referencing the popular 2005 film.

 

With most of the team, including Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo, in Montreal for a pair of exhibition games lastweek week, the responsibility of telling Thornton he had made the team fell to the bullpen coach.

 

That made this a first for both. Buschmann, a rookie coach, had never before told anyone he was headed to the major leagues.

 

Thornton was called into the office at the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla. When Buschmann was face to face with the young pitcher, he opted for sincerity.

The moment, he said, gave him chills.

 

“There’s likean energy in the room when you’re about to say it because you know you’re saying something awesome to the player,” Buschmann said. “It was cool.”

 

Meanwhile, Thornton took some time to digest what he had just heard.

 

“I just sat there for 10 seconds,” he said. “Didn’t even know how to react and then I was super, super excited.”

 

Super excited was also how Thornton would describe his reaction when he learned he had been traded from the Astros to the Blue Jays during this past offseason.

 

With the Astros, the team that drafted him in the fifth round in 2015, he was buried on the depth chart underneath a stacked big-league rotation. Despite a good season inTriple A in 2018 with the Fresno Grizzlies, in which he had a 4.42 ERA and 4.01 FIP over 124 1/3 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Thornton did not receive a call-up.

 

But last November, the Astros traded him to the Blue Jays for infielder Aledmys Diaz. When Thornton found out he was coming to Toronto, a club embracing youth on its way through a rebuild, he knew this might be his best chance to crack a major-league roster.

 

This spring, Thornton entered camp with an outside shot at the fifth spot in the rotation, if he could knock off expected incumbent Ryan Borucki, who was coming off a strong rookie season.

 

Throughout spring training, Thornton impressed the coaching staff with the way he pitched. And his mentality. For example, during one outing, Thornton plunked Bryce Harper in the ankle with a 96-mph fastball inside. The Phillies outfielder exited the game, and Thornton felt the wrath of Phillies fans on Twitter afterward. Montoyo was impressed with how Thornton bounced back from that incident.

 

“He’s outstanding, he’s not afraid,” Montoyo said of the right-hander. “He’s going to give you all (he’s) got. A good test was what happened with Harper and then he rebounded and faced the Yankees and pitched well. He’s got what it takes to compete in the big leagues, and I think he’s going to do very well. Really happy he made the club. He earned it.”

 

During the offseason, Thornton worked on refining his five-pitch repertoire, which includes a fastball, cutter, curveball, sliderand changeup. So far, when Buschmann has seen Thornton on the mound, he has been impressed.

 

“Trent’s just really talented. He’s really smart, and I just love the way he goes about his business every day,” he said. “He walks around, he’s always got something he’s working on.

 

When you pick his brain, I like the way he thinks and he’s got a great repertoire, so that’s the kid you root for and you say, ‘Man, he’s going to get better every day.’”

Thornton still needed a little luck to crack the big-league roster, though.

 

When Borucki went down with an elbow inflammation late in camp, it was determined that he would miss his first couple of starts. The Blue Jays decided to award his spot to Thornton.

It felt like a long time coming for Thornton. He had dreamed of this debut since he was 4 years old playing tee-ball. The journey to get here wasn’t always smooth. He often heard that he was not the prototypical size of a major-league player, let alone a pitcher. When he was pitching at the University of North Carolina, he didn’t have a set role: He was a starter, a reliever and a closer over his three years. His unconventional delivery was questioned along the way, too.

 

“It’s been an interesting journey because of some of the things that I’ve had to deal with and just, you know, put my head down and keep going and doing my thing, and what’s got me to this point,” he said. “And I think that’s been a little chip on my shoulder my whole career is that I’ve had to prove people wrong and most people do.

 

“But nothing was ever served to me on a silver platter at all. It’s really cool to finally be in this spot.”

 

---

When Jeff Thornton answered his phone, he could hear the emotion in his son’s voice. He knew this was about to go one of two ways.

 

“I said, ‘Well, this is either really good or really bad,’” Jeff said. “And he goes, ‘I’m going to the big leagues.’”

 

Before long, mom Patty was looped into the call, too.

 

“We’re so proud of him,” Jeff said. “It’s just something you dream about it, but until it finally happens, it’s hard to believe.”

 

During that first phone call, things naturally got emotional — in particular, when the conversation turned to Trent’s grandfather, Jerry — Jeff’s father — who passed away about six years ago. The Thorntons are a tight-knit unit, and grandfather and grandson were very close, according to Thornton’s dad. That’s why Jeff made sure to remind his son that his grandfather would indeed be watching.

 

“He just talked about how he’s going to be looking down, he’s going to have the best seat in the house,” Trent said. “That was really nice to hear. It was pretty emotional for me because I was definitely thinking about him a lot.”

 

His family will be in the house on Sunday, too. About 25 of them. His mom’s family is flying in from Pittsburgh, while his dad’s side is coming from Charlotte. Some arrived Saturday, including his parents and two sisters, who were posing for photos with him outside the Blue Jays’ dugout before Saturday’s game.

 

On Sunday, Thornton will go about his normal routine. He said he’s trying to keep his nerves at bay and, not surprisingly, the pitcher said he is going to treat this like any other start of his career.

 

Meanwhile, mom and dad will be feeling pregame jitters when they take their seats at the Rogers Centre.

 

“I’m sure I’m going to be feeling my heart beating up in my throat,” Jeff said Saturday. “Patty and I, I think we’re more nervous than he is during the games.”

 

How many more Blue Jays games he gets beyond Sunday’s remains to be seen, however. Borucki and veteran Clay Buchholz are expected to be with the club by mid-April. When they arrive, Thornton could be sent down to Triple-A Buffalo to serve as starting depth for the Blue Jays. All the coaching staff has told him is to prepare for the Tigers and see what happens, Thornton said.

 

And that is what he plans to do. When he takes the mound, Thornton will keep things simple.

 

“Just go out there and have fun. Enjoy it, soak it all in and get a win.”

[bendera3]

Who's going to start the "Can Trent Thornton stick" thread?

[el duque]

take the walk

[Jonn]

Who's going to start the "Can Trent Thornton stick" thread?

 

He doesn’t deserve to be subjected to that nonsense.

[Orgfiller]

Good job Grichuk.

[Corporal Valdal]

FINALLY someone on base lol

[Jonn]

Imagine replacing Keuchel with Miley. Cheap ass Astros.

[Jimcanuck]

Teoscar showing a good eye this year. Can he turn into a semblance of EE?

[Orgfiller]

Teoscar showing a good eye this year. Can he turn into a semblance of EE?

 

No.

[Spanky99]

Yeah in the offseason he said he was elite at 3B and thats where he wanted to be! If he can continue this has do you not Put Vlad at 1B?

 

Good problem to have. We'll see what they do, I could see him going to 2nd and using LGJ as a super utility guy.

[Orgfiller]

f*** he got robbed, that was a great AB from Teoscar.

[Corporal Valdal]

Teoscar showing a good eye this year. Can he turn into a semblance of EE?

 

EE is one the most patient hitting DH I have ever seen so no!

[Jonn]

Teoscar showing a good eye this year. Can he turn into a semblance of EE?

 

Honestly he showed a decent eye when he first came up last year. It wasn’t long before he went back to his old over anxious ways and started swinging at everything.

[Spanky99]

No.

 

Jim's failing hard, ITT.

[el duque]

C'mon Gurriel, your moment

[Corporal Valdal]

Good problem to have. We'll see what they do, I could see him going to 2nd and using LGJ as a super utility guy.

 

I would be okay with this!

[Jimcanuck]

Jim's failing hard, ITT.

 

Just shitballing, bro. Don't take everything seriously

[King]

Buck absolutely butchered that double play call.

[Corporal Valdal]

Gurriel has been f***ing pathetic what happened?

[Corporal Valdal]

Buck absolutely butchered that double play call.

 

The mans mind just cant keep up anymore! Its really sad to see

[Jonn]

Buck absolutely butchered that double play call.

 

You try putting together a sentence after 3 Whiskeys.