Zack Thornton

Zachary James Thornton

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.
• School University of Oregon, Ventura College
• High School Oak Park (CA) High School

• Born May 19, 1988 in Oak Park, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Pitched Zack Thornton was a 23rd round draft pick by the Oakland Athletics in the 2010 amateur draft, out of the University of Oregon. It was his second time being drafted, his first having come in the 43rd round in 2008 by the San Francisco Giants, out of Ventura College, although he had declined to sign at that time.

He made his professional debut with the AZL Athletics in 2010 and also pitched for the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League that first season. In 18 games, he went 2-2 with a 3.90 ERA, pitching exclusively in relief. In 2011, he spent most of his time with the Burlington Bees of the Midwest League, where he went 5-4, 2.39 in 40 games, picking up 5 saves. He pitched 83 innings during which he struck out 82 batters and walked only 22. He also pitched 3 scoreless innings in his lone appearance for the Midland RockHounds of the AA Texas League. In 2012, he was with the Stockton Ports of the California League, where his record was 4-0, 4.53 with 16 saves in 48 appearances out of the bullpen. He showed good stuff in spite of the higher ERA in the hard-hitting circuit, with 70 Ks and 19 walks in 58 2/3 innings.

On November 30, 2012, Thornton was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in return for major league reliever Chris Resop, a good sign that he had transcended his lowly late-draft origins to become a genuine prospect. He confirmed this with a solid 2013 season where he vaulted through three rungs in the Pirates' minor league system. He started off with 10 games for the Bradenton Marauders of the Florida State League, where he was 2-1, 1.93 with 3 saves. On May 11th, he was promoted to the AA Altoona Curve, where he was 2-1 with an ERA of 2.00 in 19 games, while also spending some time in AAA with the Indianapolis Indians, starting in late May. He was 3-1, 3.91 in 13 games in the International League, giving him a combined mark of 7-3, 2.63 in 42 games, with 5 saves and 90 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings against only 12 walks. Were it not for the Pirates' loaded bullpen at the start of 2014, he would have had a good chance of starting the season in Pittsburgh, but instead returned to Indianapolis. In four appearances, he picked up two wins with an ERA of 1.23 before being involved for the second time in a trade for an established major leaguer: on April 18th, the Pirates sent him to the New York Mets, along with a player to be named later, in return for 1B Ike Davis. He was assigned to the AAA Las Vegas 51s after his acquisition for the Mets, although he was clearly on the short list for a promotion to the Show.

Thornton was head coach at Westlake High School in 2018. He was then an undergraduate assistant coach at University of Oregon in 2019 and pitching coach at Ventura College in 2021-2022. Thornton became pitching coach at University of California, Davis in 2023.