Zack Thornton

Thornton was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Oak Park, California.[2][3] His parents are James and Robin Thornton (a New York native), and he has a brother named Sam.[4][5]

He attended and graduated in 2006 from Oak Park High School in Oak Park, California.[2][4] Pitching for the baseball team, Thornton was All-State, all-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), and all-Tri-Valley League.[4]

Thornton enrolled at Ventura College. He pitched for the baseball team in 2007 and 2008.[4] In his sophomore year he was 11–1 with a 1.12 ERA in 89 innings, and was named to the First Team all-SoCal Team and the Western State Conference North Team.[4][6][7] The San Francisco Giants selected Thornton in the 43rd round of the 2008 MLB draft, but he opted not to sign.[8]

He transferred to the University of Oregon, to continue his college career with the Oregon Ducks. In his junior year in 2009, Thornton suffered a right shoulder injury, which he had surgically corrected, releasing the capsule to allow his shoulder to have unhindered internal rotation.[4][9] In his senior year in 2010 he was 9–0 (his 9 wins matching the Oregon single-season record, and his 1.000 winning percentage setting the Oregon single-season record) with a 3.40 ERA (10th in the Conference) in 90 innings in which he struck out 73 batters and walked 16, and was named Pac-10 honorable mention.[3][6][10] The Oakland Athletics selected Thornton in the 23rd round of the 2010 MLB draft,[11] and he signed.

Thornton pitched in 2010 for the AZL Athletics of the Rookie Arizona League and the Vancouver Canadians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.[12][13]

In 2011, Thornton had a 5–4 win–loss record, a 2.39 earned run average, and 82 strikeouts in 83 innings for the Burlington Bees of the Class A Midwest League, and made one appearance for the Midland RockHounds of the AA Texas League.[13] At mid-season, he appeared in the Midwest League All-Star Game. He pitched for the Stockton Ports of the Class A-Advanced California League in 2012, going 4–0 with 16 saves (2nd in the league, and 4th among Oakland minor leaguers) and a 4.53 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 53.2 innings.[13][14][15] The Athletics traded Thornton to the Pittsburgh Pirates after the 2012 season for pitcher Chris Resop.[16][1]

In the 2013 season, Thornton pitched for the Bradenton Marauders of the A+ Florida State League, the Altoona Curve of the AA Eastern League, and the Indianapolis Indians of the AAA International League.[13] He was a combined 7–3 with 5 saves and a 2.63 ERA, and recorded 90 strikeouts to 12 walks in 75.1 innings, as he kept opponents to a .204 batting average.[13][15] His 31 strikeouts and 4 walks in AAA for a 7.75 K/BB ratio was fourth-best among International League pitchers with at least 25 innings pitched.[8] He was named a MiLB.com Pittsburgh Pirates Organization All-Star.[17] He pitched for the Scottsdale Scorpions in 2013 in the Arizona Fall League, where he had a 3.07 ERA.[1][15] He was considered a potential selection in the 2013 Rule 5 draft,[18][19] but he was not selected.

Thornton began the 2014 season with the Indianapolis Indians, going 2–0 with a 1.23 ERA.[13] On April 18, 2014, the Pirates traded Thornton and a player to be named later to the New York Mets for first baseman Ike Davis.[20] Thornton pitched as a reliever for the Las Vegas 51s of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, going 1–5 with a 4.22 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 59.2 innings.[5][21] He then pitched in three games for Navegantes del Magallanes in the 2015 Venezuelan Winter League.[13]

Thornton with the New York Mets in 2016

In 2015, he pitched again for Las Vegas, going 4–4 with a 3.94 ERA in 63 games.[13] That winter Thornton again pitched for Navegantes del Magallanes, and was named the Venezuelan Winter League's Setup Pitcher of The Year.[13][22] In 2016, he pitched again for Las Vegas, going 0–3 with a 7.03 ERA.[13] He became a free agent in November 2016.[17]

In 2017, he pitched for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the independent Atlantic League.[23] In 47 relief appearances, he was 2-4 with 2 saves and a 3.63 ERA.[24] He became a free agent after the season.

On February 1, 2017, Thornton wrote on Twitter: "I'm excited to announce that I will be playing for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic!"[25] He pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in March 2017.[21]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Twitter