Mets' Zach Thornton: Dark-horse candidate for promotion
Thornton could be a candidate to be called up from Triple-A Syracuse to replace the injured Clay Holmes (fibula) in the Mets' big-league rotation.
Holmes was struck by a comebacker Friday and fractured his right fibula, creating another hole in the rotation. While Thornton doesn't have the prospect pedigree of Jonah Tong or Jack Wenninger, the 24-year-old southpaw has added velocity and advanced quickly through the system since being a fifth-round pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft. Thornton's two-seam and four-seam fastballs sit in the low 90s but can touch 95 miles per hour, and he also works with a potentially plus slider, a cutter, a changeup and a curveball. He was promoted to Triple-A at the beginning of May, and through two starts for Syracuse he sports a 2.25 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 13:3 K:BB over 12 innings. Thornton isn't yet on the 40-man roster, but he's on turn to potentially replace Holmes, having also pitched Friday.
