- WEEKLY POLL
Justin Thomas “perfect” in major league debut
By J. Patrick Eaken
Press
Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com
Oregon native Justin Thomas (Clay) pitched his first two innings at the major league level for the Seattle Mariners, and both innings at the Mariners’ spring training site in Scottsdale, Ariz. against the Sand Diego Padres were perfect.
The 22-year-old former Youngstown State pitcher allowed no base runners during the fifth and sixth innings, including back-to-back strikeouts of Terrmel Sledge and ex-Mariner Mike Cameron. Thomas’s performance, according to mlb.com, caught the attention of Mariners manager Mike Hargrove.
“I knew who he was before and I really know who he is now,” Hargrove was quote by mlb.com writer Jim Street. “He has a good arm, he really does. A performance like that catches your eye.”
Thomas was a combined 14-9 last year with Class A Wisconsin and the Inland Empire 66ers in San Bernadino, California last year.
Thomas, 22, a first-team All-Great Lakes League and all-district pitcher at Clay — and the Eagles’ career home run leader — was previously honored by mlb.com as the Class A Advanced Playoff Performer of the Year after completion of playoffs last year.
Thomas was the game one starter in two postseason series for the 66ers in leading the team to its second California League championship in four years. He struck out 17 hitters in 13 scoreless innings in the postseason.
The 66ers are an “advanced” Class A farm team of the Seattle Mariners, which made Thomas their second pick in the June 2005 amateur draft.
He finished 9-4 for the 66ers, including throwing a complete-game shutout on Aug. 19, and struck out 111 hitters in 17 games. He also posted a record of 5-5 and an ERA of 3.10 for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers before being promoted.
“I’m pitching pretty well,” Thomas told The Press. “Every level you move up you find things about the hitters at that level. Every time you pitch against them you have to change your game plan to keep them guessing.”
After signing with the Mariners, the 6’3, 220-pound left-hander was first assigned to the Everett Aquasox of the “short” A league in Everett, Wash. He pitched for the Aquasox until the season ended in September, then got assigned to the instructional league in Peoria, Ariz., through October 2005.
Thomas played three years at Youngstown State and was named the Horizon League pitcher of the year as a junior. While at Youngstown State, Thomas finished his three-year career ranking second all-time in career strikeouts with 250 — one behind former major leaguer Dave Dravecky.
As a junior, Thomas was named the Horizon League's Pitcher of the Year after posting a 7-5 record with a 3.42 ERA and a career-high 88 strikeouts. He was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week twice and was named to the Collegiate Baseball Foundation's National Honor Roll three times during the season.
In his sophomore campaign, Thomas finished 7-3 and struck out 82 hitters in 93 1/3 innings to be named Second-Team All-Horizon League. He earned the win against Butler in the first round of the Horizon League championship and later started against the number one ranked Texas Longhorns in Youngstown State's first-ever game in the Division I NCAA tournament.
Justin Thomas moving up the professional ladder
By Mark Griffin
Special to The Press
sports@presspublications.com
Former Clay High School pitching standout Justin Thomas is only 23 years old, but he's been around.
Thomas, a 2002 Clay graduate, is a 6’3, 220-pound left-hander trying to work his way through the minor leagues and into the majors. So far, he's pitched at Youngstown State University and then in the state of Washington before moving on to Wisconsin, in what is called short-season Class A ball.
At the latter part of last season, he was pitching in the California League.
Today, he is a member of the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, a member of the Class AA Southern League located in Jackson, Tenn. The Jaxx are an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
“I've been getting around,” Thomas said last Sunday night while on a bus trip home from a road game in Knoxville, Tenn. Two nights earlier, Thomas pitched and got a no-decision despite leaving with a lead after 5 2/3 innings.
“I threw the ball pretty good,” he said. “You just do your best try and to give your team a chance to win. Hopefully, they win for you. If not, you did all you could.”
Through Aug. 13, Thomas was 4-7 with a 5.31 ERA in 100 innings pitched. He had given up 119 hits and 50 walks, with 80 strikeouts.
He said pitching at this level is a major step up from Class A ball.
“I've been here all year and it's a pretty major step up when it comes to the ladder,” Thomas said. “The ladder that makes or breaks guys is double-A. The jump from high A ball to double-A is really tough. There are a lot of older guys here who will hang around and play – from age 26-30. They've been with a lot of organizations. The talent pool is a lot better in double-A ball than A.”
Thomas, whose fastball had been consistently clocked from 89-94 miles per hour, has had to deal with a major setback this season.
In April he was the Diamond Jaxx's opening-day starter, but he started having elbow problems the very next day. An MRI showed that he had bone spurs in the elbow.
“Personally, it's been kind of frustrating,” Thomas said. “I've had an injury-plagued season. I spent 28 days on the DL with elbow soreness, and last month I had some minor back issues. This is the first time I've had arm problems. I have two bone spurs and a chip in my elbow that will have to be surgically removed at the end of the season.
“After the season I'm flying out to Seattle for a consultation on my surgery. Once I'm out there they'll do the surgery in Seattle or Phoenix.”
Thomas said there was initially inflamation and swelling in his pitching elbow due to a bone chip lodged in the elbow joint. The chip caused inflamation and put Thomas on the shelf for a month.
“I rested it and was getting some electronic stimulation and ice on it about three times a day,” he said. “I pitched the first game of the season and went on the DL for 25-28 days and was able to come back after that. I haven't had any arm problems since. I was feeling pretty good. My velocity is down a little from last year. At first it was touch and go to see how it felt. It just flared up on me one day.”
The mental part of not being able to pitch can be difficult for a ballplayer, but Thomas said he handled sitting out a month as well as could be expected.
“I tried the best I could to get back on the mound,” he said. “When I did that, I was pretty happy. The results are not as good as I expected of myself. I've dealt with this in my first year in double-A ball and a lot of things can help me in the future, whether it's in double-A or triple-A.”
The Diamond Jaxx have about 20 games left this season and have a slim-to-none chance of making the playoffs. Thomas said he is just going to try to make the most of his opportunities – perhaps four more starts - and then prepare for surgery out West.
“I'm looking forward to those starts,” he said. “I've had a couple of shaky starts lately, but this last one was a lot better than the one prior to it. I'm looking forward to my next one. August in the baseball world is the most important in a baseball season. You want to leave a good impression in everybody's mind when they go into the offseason meetings.
“I've had a decent season,” Thomas added. “Not that great, but hopefully I'll get that surgery taken care of and be back to normal next year.”
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