Thole was drafted straight out of High School in the 13th round of the 2005 draft by the Mets. He was scouted and signed by Quincy Boyd, the Midwest Scouting Director for the Mets. As a senior at Mater Dei High School, in Illinois, Thole batted .545 (36 hits in 66 at-bats) with eight doubles, five triples, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs and 30 runs scored. He walked 28 times, many intentionally, and struck out just once in 95 plate appearances. His on-base percentage was .681 and his slugging percentage was 1.273. He was named the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (local newspaper) player of the year. Originally a first baseman, Thole was converted to a catcher last year at short-season Kingsport; however, he has returned to 1B in Savannah, where he had an outstanding 2007 season (.267/.372/.311 in 389 at bats).
The Mets have always seem to have a bunch of young, talented, 1st base prospects who can swing a bat, but for whatever reason, none ever are taken serious by the home office to play full time at Shea. Mike Jacobs had 100 at bats a couple of years ago and put up a .600 slugging percentage; however, all that got him was being traded to Florida.
Thole is currently behind a long talented pecking line, with names like Mike Carp, Brett Harper, and Nick Evans first in line for their shot. It’s far too early to project him, but being able to be a 3rd string emergency catcher can only help his quest for the majors.
In September 2008, Thole was assigned to the Peoria Saguaros team in the Arizona Winter League.
In 2008, Thole had an all-star year for St. Lucie, hitting .300/.382/.427 in 347 at bats. He also became the top Mets catcher prospect by the end of the year.
February 2008: - Baseball America wrote: Josh Thole, c, Mets: A 13th-round pick in 2005 out of Mater Dei High in Breese, Ill., Thole was a light-hitting first baseman in low Class A in 2007, when he batted .267/.311/.372 in 117 games for Savannah. Last year, Thole had a mini-breakout as he hit .300/.382/.427 in 111 games for high Class A St. Lucie in the FSL. Thole has always controlled the strike zone (he has 133 walks and 131 strikeouts in his minor league career). He has excellent bat-to-ball skills, as the 21-year-old lefthanded hitter struck out last year only 38 times (nine percent of his 402 plate appearances). Thole also became a full-time catcher, the position he played in high school and dabbled in sparingly in his previous three pro seasons. Scouts have concerns about Thole’s defense and his below-average power. Thole hit only hit five home runs in 2008, but that’s an improvement from the goose egg he posted in that category in ‘07. He’ll likely start this season in Double-A and play all year at age 22 as a relatively under-the-radar prospect
In March 2009, Rotoworld ranked the Mets Top 10 Prospect: Showing a hint of power for the first time, Thole, who wasn't far away from being turned into a minor league reserve, took a big step forward last season. The 2005 13th-round pick finished at .267/.372/.311 in low-A ball in 2007 and had just two professional homers before coming up with five in the big ballparks of the FSL. Plate discipline has long been his strength, as he's walked two more times than he's struck out over the course of his career. He's still not much of a catcher, as he spent most of the previous three seasons as a first baseman, but he has the raw tools to turn into an acceptable backstop. That teams are always looking for left-handed-hitting catchers will give him a great shot at a career if he can last at the position.
2009 was Thole’s year to blossom. He adjusted his batting stance and took off after AA pitching, finishing the season .328/.395/.422/.816 in 384-AB. As important, he improved his throwing out runners to second to over 30%. His BA ranked him third in the league and he was the first Met called to Queens on September 1.
9-9-9 From www.hardballtimes.com: - Thole, a converted first baseman, is an extremely interesting player. After moving to catcher in St. Lucie last year, he put up a line of .300/.382/.427. In Double-A Binghamton as a 22 year-old this year, he took off, batting .328/.395/.422, and has been brought up to the major leagues where he has gotten off to a nice start. Thole has little raw power (ISO of just .094 in Binghamton), but is an extreme contact hitter (BB:K of 1.24) who sprays the ball to all fields. My favorite comp: Paul LoDuca; contact hitter who hits line drives and derives his power from his doubles.
Forecast: Thole needs another year at AAA, to work on his fundementals. Remember, this was a afirst baseman first and it takes some time to get catching mechanics down. There’s no question he can .350+ OBP… look for him to start opening day, in Queens, in 2011.
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