Entering today’s action, the White Sox hold a two-game lead over the Guardians in the AL Central. It’s officially crunch time. Every game matters and the team can no longer afford to put anything less than the best product on the field. Unfortunately, that is exactly what they have been doing with the starting rotation. They are doing themselves a disservice by not giving Drew Thorpe a chance. It’s time to see what he can do.
Starting Rotation Full of Question Marks
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the starting rotation has been the Achilles’ heel for the White Sox all season long. Seventeen pitchers have started at least one game for the team in 2026, yet there are still more questions than answers with fewer than 20 games to go.
The rotation has gradually settled in as the season has progressed. The problem is that the team’s current quintet is full of question marks. Sean Burke has been the team’s best starter for most of the season but he is well past his career high in innings and the wear and tear is starting to show. Davis Martin is in the same boat. He is also nearing his career high in innings and has been inconsistent at times. Anthony Kay has been on a downward trajectory of late, and trade deadline acquisition Luis Castillo has an ERA over 7 since the team acquired him. Erick Fedde has done an admirable job as a swingman, but his track record is iffy at best. It has reached the point where any and all other rotation options should be considered to provide a boost.
Enter Drew Thorpe. The headliner of the Dylan Cease trade in 2024, the 25-year-old right-hander would have likely already been entrenched in the big league rotation for some time now had he not gotten hurt. Two clunker performances at the end of his 2024 season left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouths, and he eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2025, missing the entire season. It was a tough blow to his development and to the team as a whole.
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The Argument for Thorpe
Now healthy again, Thorpe is showing why the White Sox wanted him to begin with. After making his first minor league rehab appearance on July 18th in the Arizona Complex League, his last five starts have all come with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. He hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of those starts, pitching to a 2.55 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 8.0 K/9 in 24.2 innings. He has also walked only four hitters over that span, an indication that his command is where it needs to be.
This isn’t the type of situation that involves rushing a young prospect who isn’t ready for the bright lights. Thorpe already has MLB experience and will be 26 in less than a month. Most pitchers with his talent are already in the big leagues at his age. And the argument that he is not ready to be activated from an injury-rehab standpoint doesn’t hold any weight now either. He has made nine starts in the minors overall since returning, covering 36.2 innings. That is more than enough of a sample to work through the rust and settle into a groove. His Triple-A numbers are an indication of that. He has nothing left to prove against minor leaguers.
Potential Viability Concerns
Even with his impressive minor league numbers, it’s far from a guarantee that Thorpe would be a meaningful upgrade in the White Sox rotation. He lacks a track record at the MLB level and there are legitimate concerns about his viability as a starting pitcher given his low fastball velocity. Thorpe has sat around 91-92 MPH with his four-seam fastball in his rehab stint, which would rank near the bottom compared to his MLB peers. He will have to prove that his command and secondary pitches are good enough to overcome his lack of velocity. Still, it’s hard to imagine him faring worse than the current version of Luis Castillo.
White Sox Have Nothing to Lose
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the next couple of weeks will be the most important games the White Sox have played in since 2021. At this point, it feels like pure stubbornness from the front office to have a full understanding of the team’s current position and still not give someone with Drew Thorpe’s pedigree and background at least a chance to see what he can do. They don’t need him to pitch like a #1 starter. They just need him to be an improvement over who they already have. It’s very possible that the division could ultimately be decided by a game or two, which is all Thorpe might need to show he belongs. But if they don’t give him a chance, we will never know.
