{"success":true,"data":{"id":"4b8fccbb-2a84-4136-81f6-8f09ecc3e950","title":"How Zac Thornton emerged out of nowhere to become sudden Mets pitching sensation","summary":"Mets rookie left-hander Zac Thornton fires a pitch in the first inning against the Brewers on July 21, 2026. Getty Images Zac Thornton was a skinny left-hander throwing his fastball in the 78-80 mph range when his family relocated from Minnesota to Lawrence, Kan.","content":"# How Zac Thornton emerged out of nowhere to become sudden Mets pitching sensation\n\n Mets rookie left-hander Zac Thornton fires a pitch in the first inning against the Brewers on July 21, 2026.  Getty Images \n\nZac Thornton was a skinny left-hander throwing his fastball in the 78-80 mph range when his family relocated from Minnesota to Lawrence, Kan., where his father had accepted a job as a track coach at the University of Kansas, before his junior year of high school.\n\nStill unrefined, he got buried on the varsity baseball team behind established players as a junior before COVID hit and wiped out his senior season.\n\nRead this article and all sports content by subscribing\n\n*   Now the only way to access sports columnists and more\n*   Receive subscriber-exclusive daily and team newsletters\n\nFiled under\n\n### Unlock full access to Post sports columnists and newsletters\n\n#### SeatGeek Mets\n\n*   [Los Angeles Dodgers](https://seatgeek.com/los-angeles-dodgers-tickets?aid=16279&pid=mlb&utm_source=nypost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=widget&utm_term=1)at[New York 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AP Photo/Aaron Gash\n\n Zac Thornton emerged as a prospect at Barton Community College by attacking the strike zone. Getty Images\n\n Carlos Beltrán told the Mets that the timing wasn't right for him to take over as manager after Carlos Mendoza's firing. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST\n\n Interim manager Andy Green has used his time in the dugout evaluating the Mets' young players in addition to trying turn around a season gone awry. AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser\n\n Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers' visit to Citi Field is a reminder of what the Mets hope to be but aren't yet. Getty Images\n\nYou are viewing**1** of **5**images Previous Image Next Image\n\n## More Stories","source_name":"New York Post","source_url":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/24/sports/zac-thorntons-improbable-rise-from-juco-project-to-mets-sensation/","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/24/sports/zac-thorntons-improbable-rise-from-juco-project-to-mets-sensation/","author":"Mike Puma","author_name":"Mike Puma","published_at":"2026-07-24T10:40:00.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-24T10:40:00.000Z","image_url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/zac-thornton-49-new-york-135137049.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=744","category":"world","topic":"world","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":2,"word_count":377,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot","language":null}}