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Trent Thornton

2026
Cubs· RHP · throws R· 48.1 IP· 3.35 ERA· 1.20 WHIP· 196 batters faced
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Grade

His grade shows how good he has been, and at what.
Fbetter than 8% of qualified pitchers at limiting bases
RelieverCommand Artist

Rarely walks anyone and lets the defense work.

Thornton allows more bases than most pitchers

The simulator expects him to allow 0.485 bases per batter faced, better than 8% of qualified pitchers. His weakest skill is limiting home runs (14th percentile). Short relief outings push strikeout rates up a little, so read his K% spoke with that in mind.

His grade rests on 196 batters faced, with data through 2026-09-27.

How to read this chart
Each spoke is a skill estimate adjusted for sample size, not a raw season stat, and farther out is better. A ↓ marks a stat where a lower number is better, and its spoke is flipped so farther out still means better. The middle ring marks the league median and the outer ring the league best. Percentiles compare him with 517 qualified pitchers, those with 100+ batters faced, starters and relievers together.

Plays like…

Each of these pitchers shares his archetype and sits closest to him in xEB/PA. Pick one to see him side by side with Trent Thornton.

Mike ParedesTwinsGrant HolmesBravesRyne NelsonD-backsMike BurrowsAstros

Pitcher type

This map shows what kind of pitcher he is, next to the league.

Pitcher type

He lands in the “Hit hard, few strikeouts” corner of the map.

League best:K% − BB% Jacob Misiorowski (26.8%)Hard-hit% allowed Blake Snell (29.0%)

How to read this chart
Two skills separate pitching styles: strikeout rate minus walk rate, where higher is better, and hard-hit rate allowed, where lower is better. The hard-hit axis is flipped, so the best corner is the top right. Each dot is a pitcher with 80+ batters faced this season, sized by batters faced. The dashed lines are the league median on each skill, and the league best on each is named above the chart. Click any dot to open that pitcher's page.
 Trent ThorntonLeague medianPercentile
Bases per ball in play(lower = better).600.527—
Walk rate(lower = better)9%9%55th
Strikeout rate(higher = better)19%22%17th

A higher percentile is better, and the 99th is the top of the league.

Arsenal

These cards show what he throws and what each pitch does.

Trent Thornton mixes his four-seam fastball (32%) and cutter (22%). His best pitch has been the sinker, saving 3.2 bases per 100 thrown against league average.

Pitch mix & swing-and-miss

−2 bases worse than a replacement arm this season

He allowed about 104 estimated bases, against a replacement arm's 102 over the same batters faced.

Replacement level is per-batter and can't be split by pitch type, so the bars below use league average.

All pitches

He cost 17.5 bases against league average across 708 pitches, or 2.5 per 100 pitches.

Four-Seam Fastball
32%
95.1 mph · RHP median 95.1
17% whiffs · Lg median 21%
cost 6.2 per 10014.1 total
Cutter
22%
91.1 mph · RHP median 90.1
29% whiffs · Lg median 22%
cost 2.0 per 1003.0 total
Sweeper
19%
81.3 mph · RHP median 83.5
23% whiffs · Lg median 31%
cost 1.4 per 1001.8 total
Curveball
16%
81.8 mph · RHP median 81.2
17% whiffs · Lg median 29%
cost 0.9 per 1001.0 total
Sinker
11%
94.4 mph · RHP median 94.7
12% whiffs · Lg median 13%
saved 3.2 per 1002.4 total

He rarely throws his changeup (0% of his pitches).

How to read this chart
Each row is a pitch he throws at least 3% of the time, from pitch tracking in the regular season. The bar is how often he throws it, then its average velocity and its whiff rate, the share of swings that miss. Beside the velocity and the whiff rate is the median for that pitch, among pitchers of his hand for velocity and across the league for whiffs. More whiffs are better for a pitcher, while usage and velocity describe how he pitches. The Bases vs average bars score each pitch against a league-average pitch in the same count, and a bar to the left (saved) is better.

Mix by batter side

Four-Seam Fastball
42% vs LHH · RHP median 40%
24% vs RHH · RHP median 33%
Cutter
19% vs LHH · RHP median 20%
24% vs RHH · RHP median 19%
How to read this chart
Each row shows how often he throws a pitch to left-handed hitters (LHH) and right-handed hitters (RHH), next to the median for pitchers of his hand (RHP median). Medians come from right-handed pitchers who throw that pitch at least 3% of the time. Between 156 and 384 of them qualify, depending on the pitch. A mix is a plan, so a higher or lower share is neither better nor worse. Overall results by batter side are under Platoon splits.

Trent Thornton's pitch movement, 2026

His Cutter has moved 2+ inches from its early-season shape, but his other 4 have not.

The verdict above compares each pitch with his own early-season outings in 2026, not with other pitchers, after taking out the league-wide drift in break.

Trent Thornton's pitch movement, 2026-12012-12012in← glove sidearm side →more risemore drop
Four-Seam FastballFF
Rise 15.9 in
+0.2 vs Lg median
Break 4.4 in
−3.3 vs Lg median
Vs. early season steady
CutterFC
Rise 9.8 in
+2.1 vs Lg median
Break −1.3 in
+0.8 vs Lg median
Vs. early season changed
SweeperST
Rise 0.2 in
−0.9 vs Lg median
Break −16.1 in
−2.3 vs Lg median
Vs. early season steady
CurveballCU
Rise −12.8 in
−2.3 vs Lg median
Break −6.4 in
+2.2 vs Lg median
Vs. early season steady
SinkerSI
Rise 9.1 in
+0.8 vs Lg median
Break 11.6 in
−3.6 vs Lg median
Vs. early season steady
Early season → nowLg medianNormal wobble around the dot
How to read this chart
Each dot is a pitch's current break in inches, averaged over his latest outings. Higher is more rise and further right is more arm-side break, and neither is better or worse. The faint trail runs from his early-season outings to the dot, and the soft halo shows how far normal noise can move it. League median is the small hollow ring, and a pitch marked * has none because too few pitchers throw it. The “changed” verdict removes a league-wide drift that the trail still shows, so a long trail can read as steady. The by-appearance chart below has the exact dates. More on the About page

By appearance

These charts follow his velocity, movement and mix from outing to outing.

These charts follow his velocity, movement and pitch mix one outing at a time, and each pitch keeps the same color in every chart. The velocity and movement charts also shade the middle of the league for scale.

Platoon splits

This section splits his results against lefties and righties.

Platoon splits (EB/PA allowed)

He handles righty bats better than lefty bats, by 0.041 EB/PA allowed.

50% probable range: +0.033 to +0.049

vs LHB80 PA0.498

vs LHB: shrunk estimate 0.498 EB/PA, 50% probable range 0.478 to 0.518, based on 80 plate appearances. Raw (unshrunk) rate: 0.575 EB/PA. League median vs LHB: 0.451 EB/PA.

His raw rate vs LHB (0.575) is off this scale. Small samples can push a raw rate this far, which is why the dot, the shrunk estimate, is the number to trust.

vs RHB116 PA0.457

vs RHB: shrunk estimate 0.457 EB/PA, 50% probable range 0.438 to 0.479, based on 116 plate appearances. Raw (unshrunk) rate: 0.521 EB/PA. League median vs RHB: 0.435 EB/PA.

0.4250.4510.4770.5030.528
← betterworse →
Below league medianAbove50% probable rangeHis raw rateMiddle half of the league

His split is about typical for a righty arm (median 0.042). He allows more than the league median against both sides.

How to read this chart
  • Each dot is his estimate against that side, with its 50% probable range as the bar. These are bases allowed, so lower is better.
  • The diamond is his raw rate, which small samples make noisy, so the simulator pulls the dot toward a more trustworthy value.
  • The dashed tick is the league median, and the shaded strip is the middle half of pitchers with 100 or more batters faced.
  • The two splits average back to his modeled overall EB/PA allowed, not the xEB/PA headline.
  • Tap or hover a mark for its number. LHB and RHB are left- and right-handed batters. More on the About page

Contact allowed

These cards show what hitters do when they make contact.

Batters go up the middle off him most often, but they do the most damage to the pull side.

Pull side and opposite field depend on which side each batter hits from, so this pools every hitter he faced.

Batted balls allowed

Every ball hit off Trent Thornton this season is drawn where it landed.
hit · out
EBlowhigh
vs Elly De La CruzDouble
116 mph · 22° · worth 3.8 bases
05/07 vs Reds
vs Kyle StowersHome run
109 mph · 32° · worth 3.7 bases
09/05 vs Marlins
vs Bryce EldridgeHome run
106 mph · 25° · worth 3.7 bases
06/12 vs Giants
vs Jose TrevinoHome run
103 mph · 28° · worth 3.6 bases
08/28 vs Reds
vs Jake MangumOutLucky out
101 mph · 35° · worth 3.6 bases
09/11 vs Pirates

Luck check

5 outs behind him came on balls the simulator values at 1.5 bases or more.

vs Jake MangumOutLucky out
101 mph · 35° · worth 3.6 bases
09/11 vs Pirates
How to read this chart
Dot color is estimated bases (EB), what the contact was worth no matter what the defense did with it. Darker means more bases, so a dark hollow ring in the outfield is a crushed ball his defense ran down. Tap or hover a dot or a row to link the two, and use the ▶ links to watch a play on Baseball Savant.

Deserved vs. actual

Batters have been credited with about 13 fewer bases than their contact off Trent Thornton deserved, so his results have been lucky so far.

Deserved by the contact he allowed86
Actually credited to batters73

Both bars count 144 balls in play, with walks and strikeouts left out.

How to read this chart
Every ball in play is worth the bases its exit velocity, launch angle and direction usually produce. If batters were credited with more than that, his results have been unlucky, and fewer means lucky. BABIP against is the batting average on balls in play he allows, next to the league median.

ERA 3.35 · WHIP 1.20 · BABIP against 0.243 (Lg median 0.286)

Best games

These are his biggest outings this season.

Best games

These are his best outings this season, ranked by bases saved against a replacement arm.

Multi-season trends · Trent Thornton

Compared with last season, his HR allowed% is up, his BB% is up, his K% is down and his Barrel% against is up.

Actual rates show what happened on the field, season by season.