November 8, 2024

By Melissa Verge

Canadian Baseball Network

Becoming a strong lefty for a Division I program started in an unlikely place.

A for sale sign in front of Justin Thorsteinson’s childhood home.

It wasn’t put up for the usual reasons. His parents weren’t tired of it. It wasn’t too small or too big. They didn’t need a change or a fresh start.

But situated in Richmond, BC, it was too far to commute to Langley, where Thorsteinson had been offered an opportunity with the Blaze under Jamie Bodaly and Doug Mathieson.

So his parents packed up their house, and moved cities, so he could join the high-performance team, and have a shot at a future in the sport.

It was a talent and a passion that they wanted to nurture, that had been evident since Thorsteinson was in t-ball.

“I never stopped loving it since I started to play,” Thorsteinson said.

You could say the game ran in his family. His dad, Jordan Thorsteinson, played growing up, and his uncle, Jason Thorsteinson was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 46th round in 1991 and was a first baseman with the rookie-class Gulf Coast Expos in 1992 and later in the independent Atlantic League for the Greenwood Grizzlies.

It was an activity father and son would often do together when the younger Thorsteinson got home from school, and the older, returned from work.

“There were times when the garage door would be up, he’d be ready for me to show up,” the father said.

As he got older, that passion continued, and the move to Langley paid off almost immediately. Through an outing with the Blaze, the then 15-year-old was spotted by an assistant coach and recruiter for Oregon State who was watching one of their games in Washington State.

Thorsteinson was invited to take a tour of the school, and at just 15 years old, he verbally committed.

Through Oregon State, the now 22-year-old reliever got his current opportunity through the transfer portal with the University of Minnesota, a member of the Big Ten Conference.

Approaching his senior year, Thorsteinson has the skills to go pro, said his University of Minnesota pitching coach, Alec Crawford.

“I think he’s got the makeup for it, the mentality, I know he’s got the desire and the drive and the passion to do that as well,” Crawford said.

Now all that’s left for Thorsteinson to do is to remain consistent, he said.

Then, if things go according to plan, get the call.

In 2024, his first season with Minnesota, he struck out 33 in 37 innings. That 37 was the second highest number of innings worked of any Minnesota reliever. In 2023 with Oregon State, he picked up his first win as a junior, making four starts with a 4.11 ERA. He struck out 19 in over 15 innings of work. In 2022, he made nine relief appearances for Oregon and posted a 6.75 ERA. The previous year he made one relief appearance for the Beavers.

His final season in the NCAA, which is fast approaching, is something Thorsteinson plans to take advantage of heading into the July draft. He was granted an extra year of eligibility after losing part of a season during COVID at Oregon State.

In his 2025 season, he will be working to get to the next level, and he’s taking his best pitch —his 93-mph fastball — with him.

He can locate it well, and working from the top of the zone, it has an excellent vertical break, he said.

He’ll be prepping that and working on his mechanics throughout the off-season so he’s ready to throw hopefully 85-100 innings this year, he said, and catch the eyes of scouts.

“Ultimately if he just puts one foot in front of another and keeps going, hopefully he gives himself an opportunity to have his name called,” Crawford said.

But no matter what happens out there, no matter how many opportunities he gets and if he gets drafted, or if he doesn’t, baseball is going to stay an important part of his life, Thorsteinson said.

“I’ll stay around the game because I love it so much,” he said. “And I don’t know what my life would be like without it.”