Drew Thorpe And Ben Rice Named Pitcher And Player of the Week
Bridgewater, New Jersey – Minor League Baseball has announced that Somerset Patriots RHP Drew Thorpe and C/1B Ben Rice have been named the Double-A Eastern League Pitcher and Player of the Week for August 7-13.
Bridgewater, New Jersey – Minor League Baseball has announced that Somerset Patriots RHP Drew Thorpe and C/1B Ben Rice have been named the Double-A Eastern League Pitcher and Player of the Week for August 7-13.
Drew Thorpe, the @Yankees No. 5 prospect, had quite the Double-A debut last night in Somerset.
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 12, 2023
His 147 Ks lead all of @MiLB pic.twitter.com/7NKf2IJfgY
Thorpe, the Yankees No. 5 prospect, made his Double-A debut on Friday, August 11 and allowed just two hits and struck out nine in eight shutout innings to earn the win. After allowing a leadoff hit in the first inning on the second hit of the game, Thorpe went on to retire 20 straight Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
Friday marked the third time this season that Thorpe has gone 8+ scoreless IP, making him the only pitcher in MiLB to accomplish the feat. The Yankees No. 5 prospect finished the day with 147 strikeouts on the season, tied for tops in all of MiLB.
Thorpe leads all Yankees minor leaguers in ERA (2.62), W (11), SO (138) and WHIP (1.02). The second-round pick by the Yankees in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo made his professional debut in 2023.
Thorpe has twice been named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week this season, most recently for the week of July 17-23, where the 22-year-old right-handed starter set a new Hudson Valley franchise record with his 13-strikeout performance on July 22 vs. Brooklyn over eight shutout innings, allowing only two hits. With the performance, Thorpe also surpassed the Renegades single season strikeout record of 119.
Additionally, Thorpe was named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month for June, going 3-0 with a 0.31 ERA in four starts over the month, highlighted by a 25-inning scoreless streak, where he allowed just an earned run on 12 hits over 28 ⅔ innings pitched.
CALL HIM RICE SPICE, he's eatin' em up at the plate!🍚🔥
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) August 11, 2023
Ben Rice smacks a three-run homer for the second straight game to open up a 5-0 lead over Binghamton! pic.twitter.com/7kYlhmyYeb
Rice went 12-for-23 (.521) for the week with 2 HR, 9 RBI and 7 R in six games, splitting time as catcher, first baseman and designated hitter.
Since joining Somerset on July 18, Rice has slashed .342/.422/.696 with 16 R, 27 H, 5 2B, 3B, 7 HR and 25 RBI in 20 games played.
He has multi-hit games in four of his last seven games and went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI on August 10 versus Binghamton. On Sunday, Rice went 2-for-3 with a walk, registering his ninth multi-hit game of the season for Somerset.
Rice was selected in the 12th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Yankees. MLB Pipeline recently adding Rice to their Yankees Top-30 prospects rankings, coming in at No. 23.
They become the fourth and fifth Patriots this season to be honored by MiLB as a Player/Pitcher of the Week, joining Tyler Hardman (2X, June 26 – July 2, July 17 - 23) and RHP Clayton Beeter (June 5 - 11). Hardman was also named the Eastern League Player of the Month for July.
About the Somerset Patriots
The Somerset Patriots are the New York Yankees Double-A Affiliate and develop today’s top minor league talent into the pinstriped superstars of tomorrow for MLB’s winningest team. The Patriots are the reigning Eastern League Champions and play their home games at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ, where fans of all ages and levels of baseball fandom get to enjoy the unique experience that is minor league baseball. To learn more, visit: somersetpatriots.com.