When Lewis Thorpe made his Major League debut with the Twins last year, it was -- as one would argue all debuts are -- a momentous occasion.

But when the rookie left-hander took the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field matching up against the division-rival White Sox on June 30, not only was Thorpe legitimizing the time and effort he’d put in to battle through an almost-three-year recovery from Tommy John surgery and a subsequent and significant bout of mononucleosis, he was also just the 34th Australian-born player to reach the Majors.

At the same time, Minnesota’s No. 10 prospect became the eighth Aussie to don a Twins uniform, and he joined Oakland’s Liam Hendriks as the only two to play in the big leagues in 2019.

“If you keep working hard, anything is possible,” Thorpe said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re from Australia, China, anywhere in the world, you can reach your goal of making it to the Major Leagues. You’ve just got to work hard and have fun.

“I’m super proud to represent my country. It’s everything I’ve worked hard for, and my family has worked hard for, to get me there. And it’s not done yet, there’s a lot more to be done.”

While Thorpe waits for an opportunity to continue working -- with baseball suspended indefinitely in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic -- building off of 12 big league appearances and a pro career that began when he was just 16, the 24-year-old hurler remains in Naples, Fla., hoping to face competition this season.

“I work out every day and try to stay patient and ready,” Thorpe said. “I’m anxious, but I’m trying to keep my head on my shoulders right now and stay positive and keep working hard.”

Evaluating himself using a Major League Scouting Bureau report and the 20-to-80 scouting scale, basing his grades on the standards set by the Bureau, Thorpe offered insight into what his future might hold.

Top tools
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of Melbourne, Victoria gave his aggressiveness and control the highest future grades among the tools evaluated by the report. He graded both out as above average presently, keeping his future control grade consistent and jumping his aggressiveness a half grade from where he believes it is now.

“I just throw the ball down the middle to try and create swings and misses,” Thorpe said. “I don’t like walking people. … And if I tell the catcher to set up down the middle and the ball goes in to out, there’s less room for error. In the big leagues, the strike zone is a little smaller, and if someone sets up inside and you throw it outside, the umpires will ball you. I’m just trying to avoid that.”

Room for improvement
Thorpe jumped each of his pitches a half grade from present to future, offering average evaluations of his fastball, curveball, changeup and slider currently, with potential to build those into being slightly-above-average offerings. The southpaw believes what will get him there is extra work in his side sessions, added effort during his bullpens, and time.

Scouting the scout
Offering insight into his own game, the Aussie hurler had very little familiarity and experience in the realms of scouting and grading to filling out the evaluation, learning as he went.

What the scouts say
“He’s a potential back-end-of-the-rotation guy who’s trying to get himself established,” one American League evaluator said. “He has a four-pitch mix with an idea of how to pitch. He has a solid-average fastball with some cut to both sides of the plate, and he can mix in a slider that flashes plus to lefties and his change to righties, allowing him to change patterns throughout the game. His curveball is a three-quarter soft breaker with good rotation and depth that he uses early and late. He does elevate the fastball at times, and he pays for it, but he has impressive command and pitchability.”

What's missing
“This [scouting report] doesn’t tell you that I’ve been underrated, and I’ve kind of been overlooked a little bit,” Thorpe said. “Going through injuries and being out for three years kind of did that. But it does put a chip on my shoulder that helps me, motivates me.”