Seattle calls up former YSU ace

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Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas is available as a reliever for the Mariners.

YOUNGSTOWN — Former Youngstown State pitcher and Horizon League pitcher of the year Justin Thomas has been promoted to the majors.

Thomas, a 2005 fourth-round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners, joined the big-league club for the first time Monday for its game against the Texas Rangers.

A 6-foot-3 lefty from Toledo, he began the season with Double-A West Tennessee and went 2-1 with a 3.71 ERA in seven games at Triple-A Tacoma.

Six of his Triple-A appearances have come since Aug. 18, when he has allowed two earned runs in 12 innings to earn his promotion.

YSU assistant coach Craig Antush, who worked with Thomas daily during his tenure as a Penguin from 2003-05, said he got goose bumps when he heard the news.

“I was beyond excitement for him,” Antush said. “He’s such a great kid to begin with, and he’s a fierce competitor every time he pitches. The commitment that he’s shown is being rewarded today. This just a great moment for him and a great moment for YSU baseball to have another pitcher in the big leagues.”

Thomas has pitched in both starting and relief roles in the minors, but all of his most recent appearances at Tacoma have come out of the bullpen.

Thomas is the second former Penguin to make the majors this season. Brad Hennessey, a first-round draft choice in 2001 by San Francisco, pitched in 11 games earlier in the year and also was called up Monday.

In his three years at YSU, Thomas won 19 games in leading the Penguins to a string of successful seasons. He helped YSU to 27 wins as a freshman, and he was the staff ace on the 2004 Horizon League Championship squad and the 2005 team that won 29 games.

His 250 strikeouts at YSU are second only to former Major League All-Star Dave Dravecky’s 251, and he is the only pitcher in school history to have at least seven wins in back-to-back seasons.

As a junior, he was named the Horizon League pitcher of the year after posting a 7-5 record with a 3.42 ERA and a career-high 88 strikeouts. He was dominant in league contests, posting a 3-1 mark with a 2.00 ERA.

In his sophomore campaign, he 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 tournament and later started against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in Youngstown State’s first game in the Division I NCAA tournament.

He made his professional debut for the Everett Aquasox, the class A affiliate of the Mariners, on June 21, 2005, and appeared in 18 games that season.

In 2006, he led all Mariners minor leaguers with 14 wins and struck out 162 batters as he ascended through the Single-A ranks.

In 2007, he spent the early part of the year on the disabled list with a strained left elbow before making 24 starts for West Tennessee.

This season he went 7-7 with 106 strikeouts and a 4.32 ERA for West Tennessee before his promotion to Tacoma.

The Mariners open a three-game series with the Rangers at 8:05 tonight.