Zach Thornton could fit what NY Mets need most from pitching staff

The New York Mets have a sudden opening in their rotation with Clay Holmes’ leg injury, and they’re turning to a minor league pitching prospect to fill it. No, not Jonah Tong. Not recent riser Jack Wenninger either. Instead, the newest member of the 2026 Mets will be southpaw Zach Thornton.

Multiple reports on Monday indicated that Thornton, 24, will either be the Mets’ starter or “bulk reliever” – think David Peterson’s role in recent weeks – against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. The Mets’ 2023 fifth-round pick owns a 3.16 ERA and has 40 strikeouts so far this year.

Thornton is following a trail that center fielder A.J. Ewing recently blazed in New York’s farm system. Like Ewing, Thornton spent time in High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton last year and began this year with the Rumble Ponies. Also like Ewing, Thornton had only recently been promoted to Triple-A Syracuse before getting the call to the big leagues.

As the Mets’ 13th-ranked prospect, fans are likely less familiar with Thornton’s game than they are with other, higher-ranked pitchers in the minor leagues – namely, Tong and Wenninger. What kind of pitcher are the Mets getting with Thornton, and why are they turning to him instead of some of their other pitchers?

Zach Thornton has a five-pitch arsenal and excels with command

Thornton throws five different pitches in his repertoire: a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a curveball, a changeup and a slider, which is his best pitch.

The Mets’ 13th-ranked prospect did not earn his success across two levels this year with his velocity – Thornton’s fastball sits in the lower 90s. He succeeds because his command is outstanding. Of the 552 pitches Thornton has thrown this year, 367 of them – 66.4% – have been strikes, according to Baseball Reference. TJStats, a Minor Leagues sabermetrics site run by Thomas Nestico, credits Thornton with a 50.5% Zone% in his five Double-A outings and a 52.1% Zone% in two outings in Triple-A. Those marks both rank in the upper percentiles of both levels.

In addition, Thornton averaged 1.4 BB/9 last year across 14 starts at the High-A and Double-A levels, which would have been the best mark in the majors last year. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who led MLB in the statistic last year, averaged 1.52 walks per nine.

That has manifested for Thornton in the form of plenty of strikeouts and ground ball outs with very few walks – just 12 this year. The 24-year-old’s most recent start featured a career-high nine strikeouts and just one walk on 81 pitches in six innings. Thornton’s other Triple-A start saw him strike out four batters and walk two.

Thornton’s arsenal, command, high arm angle and low walk rate are reminiscent of what the Dodgers have seen from lefty Justin Wrobleski this year. Wrobleski is not a hard thrower – his average fastball velocity is under 94 mph – but he’s managed to play to his strengths this year to the tune of a 6-1 record and 2.49 ERA. Thornton could look to the Dodgers’ lefty for a model of how he might find success in the majors.

The flip side of Thornton’s high command, low velocity approach is that he can be susceptible to power when his offspeed stuff isn’t biting. His worst start of the year was his penultimate appearance for the Rumble Ponies at the end of April. Thornton allowed five runs – all earned – in 4.2 innings with four of the seven hits he allowed going for extra bases: one home run and three doubles.

Zach Thornton’s command is a big reason for his call-up

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza got a good look at Thornton back when the 24-year-old was a non-roster invite during Spring Training. The southpaw made two starts in the Grapefruit League and allowed two runs across 6.2 innings. So Mendoza has credibility when he specifically mentions Thornton’s “ability to throw strikes” as a major factor in the rookie’s call-up to the big leagues.

That ability is a notable contrast to Wenninger, who has walked 22 batters this year and threw only 28 strikes on 61 pitches in his most recent start, and Tong, whose 5.7 BB/9 this year is his highest mark since 2023.

Command is not the only reason the Mets are calling on Thornton over his new teammates in Syracuse. Availability plays a part too. Even after Holmes’ injury, Wenninger made his scheduled start in Triple-A on Sunday, ruling him out for a significant role in the (MLB) Mets’ next turn through the rotation.

Tong might have been an option, given that his last Syracuse start was last Thursday. But the Mets’ No. 2-ranked prospect has struggled with command and run prevention so far this year despite finding himself once again among Minor League leaders in strikeouts. Besides that, he’s also a right-hander.

Mendoza told MLB.com that the Mets liked that Thornton was a lefty, a potential matchup advantage for New York against a Nationals squad loaded with lefty hitters. So it was something of an amalgamation of circumstances that will lead to Thornton becoming the newest Met pitcher come Wednesday. And David Stearns, New York’s President of Baseball Operations, is showing off his aggression in promoting prospects through the upper ranks of the Minors for the second time in a month.

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