Scott Thorman

Scott Robert Thorman

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 235 lb.
• High School Preston High School (Cambridge)
• Debut June 18, 2006
• Final Game September 30, 2007
• Born January 6, 1982 in Cambridge, ON CAN

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Biographical Information

Scott Thorman was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the first round of the 2000 amateur draft and made his big league debut for the Braves in 2006.

Thorman was the 30th overall pick in 2000, the second of four first-rounders chosen by Atlanta, after Adam Wainwright. The first third baseman chosen, he had not even played in high school as his school had no team. He was signed by scout John Stewart for $1,050,000, turning down a scholarship offer from the University of South Carolina.

Scott debuted with the 2000 GCL Braves, batting .227/.330/.351 in 29 games and then missed all of 2001 after shoulder surgery. He did play in the 2001 Baseball World Cup in November, going 0 for 6 with three strikeouts in splitting first base with Matthew Logan and Justin Morneau. In 2002, Thorman was healthy - and hitting. He led all Braves minor leaguers as well as the South Atlantic League with 38 doubles and batted .294/.367/.489 for the Macon Braves, smacking 16 homers and driving in 82. He moved to first base that season.

Thorman played for the World team in the 2003 Futures Game and singled as a pinch-hitter for Jose Castillo in the 7th inning. He spent the season between the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and had a disappointing batting line (.243/.311/.391). He split 2004 between Myrtle Beach (.299/.358/.461 in 43 games) and the Greenville Braves (.252/.326/.406 in 94 games). He drove in 80 runs, the most in the Braves system. Despite having been on the Canadian team that qualified for the 2004 Olympics, he did not make the Olympic roster.

In 2005, Scott made it to the high minors. He batted .305/.360/.506 in 90 games for the Mississippi Braves and .276/.313/.438 in 52 outings with the Richmond Braves. He led Atlanta's minor leaguers in hits (164), total bases (268) and RBI (92) and tied J.J. Jurries for the home run lead (21). He finished fifth in the Southern League in batting average and was rated the top defensive first sacker in the SL by Baseball America.

He went 0 for 1 for Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, backing up Justin Morneau at first base.

Thorman started 2006 with Richmond and hit .298/.360/.508 with 15 HR in 81 games, earning him a mid-season call-up to Atlanta. With the Braves, he hit .234/.263/.438 in 55 contests. Baseball America ranked him as the 12th-best prospect in the International League and the best power prospect.

When Atlanta dealt away starting first baseman Adam LaRoche in the off-season, it opened up the job for Scott in 2007. Thorman struggled and was platooned at points with Craig Wilson and Jarrod Saltalamacchia before Atlanta traded Saltalamacchia for Mark Teixeira, who became the starter. Scott was hitting a disappointing .219/.259/.400 in his first 97 games of the season. His greatest moment of the year came on September 22nd, when, facing Milwaukee Brewers closer Francisco Cordero in the bottom of the 10th with two outs and the Braves down by one, he hit Cordero's first pitch deep into the right field seats to tie the game. This extended the game into the 11th inning, in which the Braves won it. Thorman finished the year with just a .216/.258/.394 batting line and 68 OPS+ for the Braves.

Thorman returned to Richmond for 2008. After 95 games, he was hitting .249/.282/.468 with 18 HR before leaving to join Canada for the 2008 Olympics. He was Canada's starting first baseman in Beijing but only hit .174/.240/.304; his big hit was a three-run homer off Tao Bu.

Thorman was a bench coach with the Burlington Royals in 2014. He then managed Burlington in 2015-2016, the Lexington Legends in 2017-2018, and the Wilmington Blue Rocks in 2019. After the 2019 season he managed the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League. Thorman was scheduled to manage the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. He did manage the Naturals in 2021 followed by the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2022.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2015	Burlington Royals	Appalachian League	31-37	7th	Kansas City Royals
2016	Burlington Royals	Appalachian League	42-26	1st	Kansas City Royals	Lost League Finals
2017	Lexington Legends	South Atlantic League	62-75	12th	Kansas City Royals
2018	Lexington Legends	South Atlantic League	76-60	2nd	Kansas City Royals	League Champs
2019	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Carolina League	82-56	2nd	Kansas City Royals	League Champs
2021	Northwest Arkansas Naturals	Double-A Central	64-55	2nd (t)	Kansas City Royals	League Champs
2022	Omaha Storm Chasers	International League	71-78	14th	Kansas City Royals

Sources: 2001-2007 Baseball Almanacs, MLB.com, Worldbaseballclassic.com, IBAF website, 2008 Olympics