College and Minor League Baseball
In the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft, Thornton was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 27th round but decided not to sign with them. Thornton played college baseball for Grand Valley State University and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the first round as the 22nd overall pick in 1998 Major League Baseball Draft.
Thornton played briefly (only pitched 1 inning) with the Single A Everett AquaSox in the Northwest League. In 1999 and 2000, Thornton was a starting pitcher with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the Midwest League and showed improvement with his ball control and accuracy, striking out nearly 1 batter an inning. 2001 was probably Thornton's breakout year. Thornton started for San Bernardino Stampede in the California League (high-A ball) and had a 14–7 record, along with a stellar 2.52 ERA and 192 strikeouts in only 157 innings pitched.
Thornton was then promoted to AA baseball and played with the San Antonio Missions of the Texas League in 2002. Thornton, still a starting pitcher, pitched well with a 3.63 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched. In 2003, Thornton was briefly sent back down to high-A ball with the Inland Empire 66ers of the California League, but was quickly promoted back up AA ball with the San Antonio Missions again. He started only 4 games, but posted an incredible 0.36 ERA, with a 3–1 record, gave up only 8 hits in 25.1 innings of work and struck out 18 batters. His performance got him promoted that same year to AAA ball with the Tacoma Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League. Thornton had a shaky start to his career in Triple-A ball, starting 2 games and posting an 0–2 record and a 8.00 ERA.
Regardless of his performance in those two final games of his 2003 season, Thornton stayed with the Tacoma Rainiers in 2004. He posted a 7–5 record, along with a 5.20 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched.
Read more about this topic: Matt Thornton (baseball)
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