Zach Thornton

Zachary Charles Thornton

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 170 lb.
• School Barton Community College, Grand Canyon University
• High School Lawrence Free State High School
• Debut May 20, 2026

• Born January 17, 2002 in Winona, MN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Zach Thornton was born in Minnesota but attended high school in Lawrence, KS before going to junior college in Kansas as well; his family has roots in both states. After two years at Barton Community College, he attended Grand Canyon University in 2023 from where he was drafted in the 5th round of the 2023 amateur draft by the New York Mets.

He started his professional career in 2024 with the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League and was promoted to the Brooklyn Cyclones of the South Atlantic League before the end of that season. In 2025, he combined to go 6-1, 1.98 in 14 starts between Brooklyn and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies of the AA Eastern League, vaulting him among the top ranks of prospects in the Mets system. He began 2026 at Binghamton, then moved up to the AAA Syracuse Mets after 5 starts, and on May 20th he made his major league debut as the starting pitcher for New York against the Washington Nationals. He gave up 4 runs in 4 1/3 innings and was charged with the 8-4 loss. He was taking the roster spot of Clay Holmes, who had suffered a broken fibula in his last start.

Further Reading

• Anthony DiComo: "'Wasn’t going to miss this': Thornton's dad sees debut despite temporary paralysis", mlb.com, May 20, 2026. [1]

Related Sites

• Zach Thornton on mlb.com
• Grand Canyon University bio